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Edna Lister’s Sermons, 1966
May 1, 1966-June 19, 1966, Cleveland, OH
New Lives for Old: Ephesus, the First Church
Edna Lister outline, May 1, 1966, Cleveland, OH, Revelation 1:10-20, 2:1-7
“I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea. And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; and in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; and his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter; the mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.”–Revelation 1:10-20.
“Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write, These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; I know thy works, and thy labor, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast labored, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.”–Revelation 2:1-7.
The seven stars that John mentioned in the first chapter of the Revelation represent God as a personality, as His Son, whom we are to follow. The seven candlesticks represent seven absolute principles, which are the sources of many relative laws that everything in form must obey. The seven angels are the heads of the sevenfold heavenly hierarchy.
The stars the Son, as the Alpha and Omega, holds in his right hand represent the Creation and all beings begotten and created below the Godhead, including man, whom God created “in His image and likeness.” The right hand symbolizes expression, how you execute your ideas and act in the world. The left hand symbolizes reaching for the Source of all Power as potential.
The seven candlesticks also represent seven great schools of wisdom, each of which taught one of the seven great principles that form the foundation for all lesser or subordinate laws. He who “walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks” represents man’s sevenfold perfection of expression of these principles, as stars in the Crown of I AM. This is another way of saying that the Christ consciousness is walking in the midst of your whole life constantly, inner and outer. Man’s world of consciousness is divided into three phases, the Garden of Eden, the Promised Land, and the Land of Egypt.
The first church, Ephesus (Revelation 2:1-7), represents man as a star. The candlestick in this sense represents the spine, from the sacrum plexus, which is the outer lower creative center, to its flaming tip in the higher creative center, in the brain. These creative centers are your means of expression of love in all its degrees, from the outer physical to the inner spiritual love of God.
The candlestick of the first church represents the principle of illumination and how man expresses it. The star, in this context, symbolizes the individual embodied soul and its heavenly Begotten Father.
The text describes what you have overcome, yet you are told that He has “somewhat against thee.” The soul taint here is that you are still lukewarm at times, merely simmering, not boiling. So, you are already part-way down the greased pole of consciousness and slipping fast.
Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.–Revelation 2:5. “From whence thou art fallen” refers to the Garden of Eden, which symbolizes your head, your brain and its creative centers, and your mind as it expresses through rational consciousness. You fall from that paradise to the Land of Egypt, the appetitive soul’s world of sensation, selfish desires and willfulness.
How can you repent and do the first works? Arise and ascend in consciousness. The first works include all that God designed you to be and to do. The spine is the body’s rod of Power descending, and the Tree of Life when you are ascending on that Power. At birth, you, the soul, descend to fill the body, taking charge to learn and grow into your soul’s destiny of ascension into the Light
Metaphysically, Ephesus means “desirable and appealing.” At one time, the earthly Ephesus was an important center of learning, religion and commerce. As man’s consciousness descended from the soul’s flame to outer self-expression, he began to worship materialism, practicing idolatry, and believing in superstition. As man has fallen in consciousness, so have the civilizations of the world.
The churches mentioned in the second and third chapters of the Revelation symbolize the molecular desire body’s vital centers, which are arranged from the crown and along the spine. These vital centers serve as the forms through which Spirit acts in the candlesticks.
“I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.”–Revelation 2:5. When you fall low in consciousness, you cut off your contact with higher divine Mind. This must be so lest you destroy yourself.
You hold the seven stars in your right hand, which represents expression, execution, and doing. They are seven rays of Light or soul powers to aid you in overcoming the selfishness of appetitive soul, conquering its hold to ascend in consciousness. They also represent seven ways in which you may shine with God’s Light.
“To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.”–Revelation 2:7. As you stand on this holy ground, the flame of new life leaps up and around you through the magnetic currents of earth, the currents of life that feed you with physical energy. They arise to meet with the shaft of Light descending from above when you are high in consciousness. This is how you “eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.”
New Lives for Old: Ephesus, the First Church
Edna Lister transcript, Elizabeth Barnes, Lotus Landis, Irene White, scribes, May 1, 1966, Cleveland, OH, Revelation 1:10-20, 2:1-7
“I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea. And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; and in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; and his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter; the mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.”–Revelation 1:10-20.
“Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.”–Revelation 2:1-7.
The Revelation of Jesus Christ to John is a key to interpretation of the entire Bible. The first three chapters, in which the Voice of God speaks to the seven churches from the Source, are among the greatest examples of mysticism, which the dictionary defines as “immediate consciousness of the transcendent or ultimate reality, or God.” John served as the scribe and recorded the Revelation. However, Jesus’ mother Mary heard the Voice, and mediated the message.
“I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.”–Revelation 1:8. Do you believe this truth? Do you stand on the truth of this steadfastly? Merely bearing witness to Jesus as the Christ is not enough, for you must bear witness to God your Father also. Jesus often mentioned his Father during his ministry.
You do not have to prove that God is alive to the new wave of God-is-dead atheism and agnosticism. The challenger must prove that his god is dead. Ask, “Where is your proof that God is dead? Prove it!” Saying that God is dead is spouting a negative, and no one can prove a negative—it’s an impossibility logically. Even the agnostics cannot tell you what keeps the planets in their orbits. All you need to do is to stand steadfastly and be as God is.
God required a series of forms through which to operate during this Day of Manifestation, so He begat the androgynous Paradise Twins, who form the Computer Mind that administers all Creation. The seven stars represent Archangels who head the great Heavenly Hierarchies that execute the laws of Creation.
“These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks.”–Revelation 2:1. The seven candlesticks symbolize the forms of churches, which in turn represent certain principles, greater and lesser. These principles are laws that every soul must obey. Thus, you are a star and an angel, and have a candlestick of your own. Stars represent God expressing as personality through the many individualized souls, and expressing as principle through the candlesticks, the soul’s form. You are a star in your personal expression.
You are a star, and you represent a star in the Milky Way. Your spine represents a candle, rooted in the sacral plexus at the base of the spine, whose flame burns at the top of your head. You ignite the candle from above, as magnetic currents flow in through the soles of your feet, creating a two-way flow of magnetic and etheric energies that enliven your consciousness and your form, the mind and the body. The church in Ephesus, the city of desire, illustrates the lower creative center of living vitality, and the sacral plexus. The name, Ephesus, means “from the desired place, desirable, appealing.”
You can ascend your consciousness to God, even in the most uncomfortable place, if you desire to achieve the Source. To seek the Source successfully, you cannot be body-conscious or merely intellectually curious. Life is dependent on breathing, but you cannot partake of God’s full life unless you breathe deeply.
“Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.”–Revelation 2:4-5. Worship the Light, which is your soul's first love, the Power of God, and follow the Master. You can touch the Source with one deep breath, and the Power returns along the line of Light you create, healing you by making you whole.
Worship the Source of All Light, but not the forms that personality takes. We believe in and are devoted to personality, but do not worship personality. You can have love for and devotion to the Master of Masters, the Heavenly Hierarchy and Councils, but you worship the one God as Light. Jesus the Christ is part of God as His Son.
“To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.”–Revelation 2:7. Your candlestick is the rod of power in your spine. It becomes the Tree of Life when the etheric current flows in from the Source. Do you hunger and thirst for the fruit of the Tree of Life? Breathing, breathing, breathing deeply is the key. Anytime you leave your first love, you have fallen into intellectual idolatry, the worship of things, ideas and worldly ways.
You can have a new life for the old if you stand steadfastly and declare that you are through with becoming, and now you are being. Then you stand on holy ground as this mighty Power descends. God holds us all in His right hand, as glorious stars in the firmament of His almighty Power.
God has never stopped doing. His Light, which He releases through His Elect, is bringing evil to the surface for you and I to speak the Word to lift. The magnetic power arising from below and the etheric power descending from above moves through you as you stand, robed and protected in Light.
How great is your honor, integrity, your loyalty, to God? God will eventually enfold every life spark, for such is His integrity and loyalty to Creation’s Unity. When you touch that oneness with God, your face shows it. When you know that only God is because He is all that is, He engraves the mark of a creator upon your soul.
A New Found Horizon: Smyrna, the Second Church
Edna Lister outline, May 8, 1966, Cleveland, OH, Revelation 1:1-3, 2:8-11
“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.”–Revelation 1:1-3.
“And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive; I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; he that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.”–Revelation 2:8-11.
This has been another glorious year, a beautiful year. We have accomplished more conquering thus far than during the previous twenty years. How have we done this? We have accomplished so much because we know the truth. Invisible evil acts as a slow poison, but visible evil is its own cure. To see evil, and to declare it good, enables God to draw its fangs and stingers.
Today is Mother’s Day, which represents the nourishing, sustaining Power of God’s love for His Creation. The Mother’s love represents eternal time. The Father’s Wisdom symbolizes eternal space. Mother-love as time is forever now. Father-wisdom as space is all space. Because God is infinite and eternal, you have plenty of time and all space in which to do. When Mother-love’s timing is perfect in Father-wisdom’s space, all success and miracles follow. Time without space is lifeless, and space without time is tedious. The two acting together as one create action through faith.
“And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive; I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; he that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.”–Revelation 2:8-11.
Smyrna is the second church mentioned in Revelation, and it represents action. Its metaphysical correspondence in the human body is to the spleen and the second vital center in the desire body. Metaphysically, the spleen is the seat of life substance. The physical spleen filters the blood, recycles old red blood cells, and stores platelets and white blood cells. The body makes red blood cells in the bone marrow and the liver. Those cells made in the bone marrow partake of the Father-wisdom vibration, while those from the liver correspond to Mother-love. They represent faith in action. Cells from the liver and bone marrow travel to the spleen where they mate symbolically, to fill the bloodstream as life.
Metaphysically, the spleen represents opinions, prejudices, rebellion and blasphemy. When you “vent your spleen” by expressing all your anger, you create an actual form that can turn and rend you. You thus cast your soul into prison for “ten days,” the time it takes to conquer the selfishness that erupted from your appetitive soul. Temporarily, you become a member of the “synagogue of Satan,” until your rational soul again takes charge, returning you to your “right mind.”
“And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”–Revelation 20:11-15.
Smyrna is the city that represents the creative fire. When you explode in anger, it can backfire and result in physical illness. Anger taints the creative fire, which then rises as gall and stomach acid to set the nerves afire negatively. Gall is bitter. To say in anger, “I gave you the best years of my life,” is bitter. Instead, ask of your soul what voicing this anger and bitterness will do to you. How will it affect you? All negative emotions and their expressions eventually fall of their own weight, sometimes resulting in a nervous breakdown as the soul seeks to escape the self’s negativity.
Such a soul lacks timing and finds his space empty. He is suffering from a touch of the second death, the loss of identity with God. No vitality of life is the second death. You can overcome this by being “faithful unto death”—the death of rebellion, blasphemy, blame, opinions, and prejudices. Let the timing of Mother love melt, dissolve and absorb these soul taints into Light. All it takes is to love God enough. Shout, “Father, I love You!” Have a love affair with God!
Your new found horizon is knowing that you can stand in the eternal flame of immortality now. You can overcome death. You can be fearless and come to no harm when you live in full obedience to divine law.
A New Found Horizon: Smyrna, the Second Church
Edna Lister transcript, Elizabeth Barnes, Irene White, Virginia Whitehead, scribes, May 8, 1966, Cleveland, OH, Revelation 1:1-3, 2:8-11
“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.”–Revelation 1:1-3.
“And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive; I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; he that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.”–Revelation 2:8-11.
Smyrna was a great city of Ionia in Asia Minor, about fifty miles north of Ephesus. Smyrna’s name means “sweet fragrance,” and metaphysically, it is called the “seat of substance,” for it represents the substance of faith in action.
The law of correspondences dictates that an attribute has the same qualities on different levels of expression, and has a correlating seat in the physical. Faith, at its lowest pole of action, operates in the desire body’s vital centers. Metaphysically, the splenic center corresponds to Smyrna. Faith operates instantly on the spleen, which represents honor, loyalty, and integrity.
“I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.”–Revelation 2:9. Many words are used symbolically in the Bible. “Jews” usually denotes obedience to law, but in this context it means those who were rabid to keep the letter of the law, careless of its spirit. Such souls claim that they are obedient to law, but fanatically persecute those who do not believe the same way. Many non-Jews are Jews in this sense. A “synagogue of Satan” describes the disturbance of the physical, emotional and mental life through illness, sorrow and lack that results when you do not pay your soul vows and debts.
“Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days.”–Revelation 2:10. If you make a vow, you must keep it and act on it, or you will suffer the effects of neglect. Indulging your opinions, prejudices, rebellion and blasphemy will hamper your ability to live up to the laws you know. Some souls blame God, but do nothing to pay for their lapses. Worse is to blame God or His Power for your failure, whining, “Nothing works for me.” Blame reacts on the liver and spleen, which may bring the “first death,” which is to be ill or weak, not necessarily physical death. Resurrection is to change your mind without leaving the body by dying first. Anyone can be resurrected from weakness, disease, and self-pity. When you speak of being resurrected, you are being saved from the first death.
You are cast into prison for ten days while you pray yourself up and out of bondage to self into a spiritual frame of mind, or soul consciousness. Pay no attention to the evils emanating from today’s synagogues of Satan. Ignore them. You cast yourself into the prison of resentment by thinking and voicing negative thoughts. It takes “ten days” to love and pray yourself out of self’s prison of the appetitive soul.
“Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.”–2:10. Faith represents loyalty, honesty, integrity and all the positive soul virtues. If you are faithful unto the death of opinions, prejudices, and resentments, your effort saves you from the second death in the “lake of fire and brimstone.” This perdition is the annihilation of identity, having the life sparks cast into the lake of fire until all memory burns away from the soul. The fire consumes just identity, not life, which is eternal. That soul substance will come forth in a new Day of Manifestation with a new number and name.
You can see evidence of people having their life sparks cleansed today. For example, one may express a violent antipathy against drinking, but misuse the Power in a different way. You do not suffer from the second death when you ascend, but receive the crown of life for accepting your responsibilities and conquering self.
The church of Smyrna functions on faith in action. In the mating of love and wisdom, the physical, emotional, and spiritual dimensions of life become one, and appear as the glory of God. You are living in timeless eternity. If the phone rings, Oversoul’s God consciousness tells you what to say. You love God and can make no wrong answer, which is overcoming, how you overcome the first death and prevent the second.
What is the glory of a new found horizon? It varies from soul to soul. For example, souls enter marriage with high ideals. They have children and are happy, yet often reach a point of suffocation—mothers may fear for the safety of their children, fathers may feel anxious for the welfare of their families.
When you have reached your spiritual, emotional and physical limits, break through, move out, expand the horizon of your hopes in early life. Begin something new. Beyond that newfound horizon is the glory of new life. Now you are resurrected from your old life, and cannot fall back to sleep.
The White Flame of Glory: Pergamos, the Third Church
Edna Lister outline, May 15, 1966, Cleveland, OH, Revelation 2:12-17, 8:1-5
“And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges; I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth. But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate. Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; to him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.”–Revelation 2:12-17.
The church in Pergamos is the third church mentioned in the Book of the Revelation. Pergamos, then named Pergamum, was an ancient Greek kingdom on the coast of Asia Minor, and later a Roman province. Today, it is called Bergama, in the İzmir Province of Turkey. Pergamos, which lies in the Land of Egypt, the abdominal cavity, according to the metaphysical correspondences, represents the physical epigastric nerve plexus and the navel chakra center in the desire body. In Greek, pergos means “a tower, fortified structure.” Metaphysically, Pergamos is the seat of intelligence and of personal pride, also called Satan’s throne.
“I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.”–Revelation 2:14. The citizens of Pergamos were devoted to the worship of Baal, or “lord,” whom Jesus referred to as “the prince of this world,”—“Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.”–John 12:31. Later he said, “The prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.”–John 14:30. The prince of this world is another title for the father of lies, Belial. The city had countless altars to Baal and the Pergamos citizenry made a mock of God, just as many do today.
People worship so many false idols and often hold blasphemous beliefs. You may not think so, but you mock God when you call yourself dumb, stupid, weak, ill or poor, or when you act selfishly, independent of God’s Mind. All self-condemnation is a mockery of God, your Father, and of your birthright. If you make yourself a stumbling block to others, you are not being an ensample of Light or obedience to law. Fornication, besides referring to sexual immorality, includes taking ugly ideas or thoughts to bed, and waking up in the night with nameless fears or any darkness the self is hugging.
“And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword.”–Revelation 1:16. The sword of choice is two-edged—one edge cuts off evil and darkness, the other edge cuts off God’s glory. God never destroys His creations, which are made of immortal substance; however, He does reabsorb the form of the substance and reuse it. You choose which edge of the sword to use, whether to arise in consciousness to glory, or descend to perdition.
Since an adversary-focused consciousness uses only front-brain reasoning, the self-mind resistance acts like a band around the forehead, and shows as headaches. To overcome spiritually means to come up over self’s expressions of rebellion and stubbornness, and includes conquering idle words. You sell yourself short when you listen to or speak idle words. When you repeat them, you recreate yourself in their image and likeness.
“To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.”–Revelation 2:17. Manna is the nourishing substance God fed the Tribes of Israel in the wilderness, but the “hidden manna” is the gift of life itself, the food of experience hidden in everything and everyone whom you meet. As you meet life, be prepared to accept manna from everywhere.
“A white stone” refers to the pineal body in the brain; its hormone secretion is like white sand. This is the intake point for the white Light of the Christ. As you wash every tainted page of your soul record white as snow, the pineal body awakens as your reward. A stone is “a defense, a polisher, a sharpener, a boundary marker”; it can also mean “to distill, or to condense.” You can distill what you have learned from your experiences in life into such a highly condensed essence that you can store a great deal of wisdom in the brain cells of your mental equipment.
Your “new name” represents new Christed comprehension as Christed “I AM,” the Oversoul consciousness; however, your new name is worthless unless you exalt it with the way you live your life. This is your flaming glory: “And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.”–Hebrews 1:7.
“But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”–2 Corinthians 3:18. Dare you accept this? Do you believe it? Are you ready to use greater love and to do the greater works for greater conquering? What price will you pay for this glory?
“And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets. And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand. And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.”–Revelation 8:1-5.
Lift everything in life to this angel with a censer. Be enraptured with your devotion to God and your service to Him. Dare to dedicate your life to releasing greater Power, increasing your flaming imagination and burning desire. Act as if you already are the conquering victor that God has destined you to be. Declare, “I love God. God is great. Thank You, Father.”
The White Flame of Glory: Pergamos, the Third Church
Edna Lister transcript, Elizabeth Barnes, Irene White, scribes, May 15, 1966, Cleveland, OH, Revelation 2:12-17, 8:1-5
“And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges; I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth. But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate. Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; to him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.”–Revelation 2:12-17.
The apostles established the third church at Pergamos in Asia Minor, known today as Bergama, in the İzmir Province of Turkey. The name Pergamos means “a fortified tower,” and it was a city devoted to worshiping Baals, the strange gods of the earth, which includes every form of materialism dragging consciousness down to a lower level. Worshipers at the altars of the Baals have always mocked God. We are past that cycle, which was described more than 2,000 years ago. The whole world mocks God and worships the Baals now, wallowing in a very coarse and vulgar vibration. {Baalam is directly relatd to Baalim, or “lords of the earth.”}
Pergamos represents the lower part of the body, the land of Egypt, which includes everything below the diaphragm. As a state of consciousness, Pergamos is but two levels above those who are emerging from the creature stage of consciousness, and signifies willful intelligence without the balancing influence of the Mind of God. When selfish will and desire rule through the appetitive soul, they bind the mind to a peculiar self-centered thinking that passes for intelligence in “Satan’s seat.” The center called “Satan’s seat” is within the cells of the
In the metaphysical sense, adultery symbolizes defiling the truth of the heart, mind, and intellect. Fornication is an adulteration that occurs between two factions, and includes perversions, organized crime, terrorist violence, etc. The church in Pergamos was open to the propaganda of evil—the doctrine of Balaam and the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes—and its inhabitants were committing all the perversions possible to souls having free will.
“Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.”–Revelation 2:16. The mouth represents repudiation or acceptance, and the tongue the two-edged sword of free choice. In His mercy, God has given us a protective barrier, which even He cannot penetrate. Through the ages, many have forced their way through by misinterpreting the mysteries, which sometimes causes sudden heart failure in the night.
You always have a choice between “this” or “that.” Two choices are always possible under the mysteries, to ascend or descend. Are you ascending to, or evading, hiding from the truth? Truth is something you should obey, yet most people think, “I accept that I should overcome this, but not now.” The door eventually closes, if you put it off, but you still have the same thing to overcome. To overcome means to come up over a hurdle or obstacle, usually one of self. You create your own life with every choice you make. If you criticize another, you see a barrier, and make yourself over in his image and likeness, which is how you mock God. You, who are in the physical, epitomize the universal. The law is to go up in consciousness. What do you want as your personal image and likeness of God?
Committing fornication is, for instance, going to bed with a fear or doubts, which often cause night fears, and sometimes even a heart attack. You cannot overcome the power of the lower earth, unless you breathe deeply and empty the trash in the subconscious mind of the impulsive appetitive soul. Never cut yourself off from Oversoul I AM consciousness, the door through which Light-as-Power enters your life. If you overcome, Light washes the pages of the past white as snow, and wipes your debts from the Book of Life. You pay a debt each time you overcome a limitation of the self, and God gives you a white stone, which grows as the wisdom of the Almighty.
A quick tongue’s only dividends are loss and debt. Too often, you invest your own life sparks in the body of the person whom you criticize. Every time you criticize, you give away “a piece of your mind,” the actual life sparks that form your brain substance. Overcoming such selfish tendencies is critical, and is a laborious operation. Remember to declare, “This is good. Let there be Light.”
“We all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”–2 Corinthians 3:18. Practical overcoming is lifting everything you do not like, the sins of other people, and of the world. Your Begotten Father in heaven already knows all about the world’s sins and evil, so you do not need to go into great detail informing Him of what they are.
“And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets. And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand. And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.”–Revelation 8:1-5.
As you kneel before your personal prayer altar, you see the faces of those on your lines of Light and responsibility and say, “This person, Name, is good. Let there be Light.” You have soul wings, so fly to heaven. Ignore criticism, and to frustrate the one who picks you apart, say, “You are wonderful.” Put your worst favorites on a cloud of Light.
Now you are changed into total perfection. Let the Light of God move through you. Now you are in the Light, which “makes His angels spirits and His ministers a flame of fire.” Your new name is I AM.
The Morning Stars: Thyatira, the Fourth Church
Edna Lister outline, May 22, 1966, Cleveland, OH, Revelation 2:18-29
“And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass; I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first. Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works. But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden. But that which ye have already hold fast till I come. And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father. And I will give him the morning star. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.”–Revelation 2:18-29.
The fourth church mentioned in Revelation is Thyatira, which means “inspired one, burning incense, perfume.” Thyatira represents the physical cardiac nerve plexus, which controls the body’s electrical system and bloodstream, and the desire body’s heart, its vital center. The heart is the soul’s direct line to the Light and Power you express as faith. While the navel is the third vital center in the desire body, the seat of self, you step from self to soul at the heart, the fourth center.
“These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass.”–Revelation 2:18. The soul is like a flame, which has the power to consume the physical. What the eyes see arouses the soul to action, positive or negative, for what the eye sees, the heart covets. You may rebuke with just one look, and quell resentment and rebellion without speaking a word. Fine brass appears as gold, yet this is a metaphor for the embodied soul walking earth—the gold of Spirit in its spiritualized form, the body.
“I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first.”–Revelation 2:19. “Works” is mentioned twice, first in relation to the works of the self, second in relation to the soul working from the higher creative center, the endocrine glands and nerve centers in the head. The works of self include duty-works, such as holding a job, raising a family, repairing the car or the house. You most commonly practice charity when you give another the benefit of the doubt. Your service is to God, and faith is your devotion of soul.
“Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.”–Revelation 2:20-21. The original Jezebel was a Phoenician princess, whose father, Ethbaal, was king of Tyre. She married Ahab, king of Israel, who permitted her to build altars dedicated to Baal; thus, she established idolatry in Israel. She did many evil works, including murder and human sacrifice.
Elijah prophesied of Jezebel, saying, “The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.”–1 Kings 21:23. After Ahab died, Elisha anointed Jehu king (2 Kings 9:3), and commanded him to destroy the house of Ahab. Of Jezebel, Elisha prophesied, saying, And the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the portion of Jezreel, and there shall be none to bury her.–2 Kings 9:10.
And the prophecies came to pass: “They went to bury her: but they found no more of her than the skull, and the feet, and the palms of her hands. Wherefore they came again, and told him. And he said, This is the word of the Lord, which he spake by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, In the portion of Jezreel shall dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel: And the carcase of Jezebel shall be as dung upon the face of the field in the portion of Jezreel; so that they shall not say, This is Jezebel.”–2 Kings 9:35-37.
Jezebel’s story is a grim tale of how self carries the soul into evil. Every soul chooses between self-expression, demanding and forcing by demonstrations of will, or working from soul’s ideals. Soul “lets” things happen, and speaks the magic Word, “This is good. Let there be Light,” so that miracles may come as added things in your life. Jezebel was a black queen of darkness, thrown to the dogs because she sacrificed to idols and taught others to eat of things sacrificed. Your wisest sacrifice is the idle words you speak, otherwise you find yourself eating them when the laws you break return them to you.
Jezebel’s creature-like appetitive soul nature, which she expressed in her body, was eaten by a pack of feral digs, symbolic of the gods she worshiped. Only her human nature remained, the skull, the seat of the golden bowl, her hands, and her feet, symbolic of her works and level of understanding. The heart is the seat of zeal for the Lord and His Truth, but also holds the sins of anger, covetousness, envy, gluttony, lust, pride, and sloth. You can commit fornication and adultery on any level when you let self rule soul.
“Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.”–Revelation 2:22-23. The law requires that you live by your rational soul’s desires as opposed to self’s desires, which feed the animal nature through the appetitive soul. You can rest yourself to death on a low vibration, so to be cast into bed refers to a state of lukewarm inactivity, the opposite of zeal. Always repent as you go. “I will kill her children” refers to thoughts of discord, disharmony, illness, pain, fear and doubts. To “kill” implies taking that thing’s life power, absorbing it.
“I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts”: The reins is an archaic name for the kidneys, which represent purity of thoughts and desires. Reins also represent control over self and its desires, and “power over the nations,” which are the body’s organs. Physically, the kidneys filter the blood [renal function]; when they fail, the body must have dialysis or die. The spine is “a rod of iron,” so stand straight, upright in the Light and hold fast to truth. When the chaos comes, the “nations” will be “broken to shivers,” meaning that all crystallization will be melted and dissolved, absorbed into Light.
“And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father. And I will give him the morning star. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.”–Revelation 2:18-29. The morning stars are the creator gods who descended in the first live wave to come to earth. You build your highest spiritual body of pure soul substance, which we call stardust.
Being a “morning star” was your original estate, to which you will return when you have conquered self to the degree that you have shattered the old idols, the creations of self, and scattered the ashes of your dead self in a lake of divine fire to be absorbed and returned to you. The morning star consciousness holds that enchanting dreamlike quality, the tone and mood of those moments before dawn and the rising sun, the morning of life, a new ascended life of glory and soul rapture.
The Morning Stars: Thyatira, the Fourth Church
Edna Lister transcript, Elizabeth Barnes and Irene White, scribes, May 22, 1966, Cleveland, OH, Revelation 2:18-29
“And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass; I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first. Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works. But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden. But that which ye have already hold fast till I come. And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father. And I will give him the morning star. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.”–Revelation 2:18-29.
The fourth church of the Revelation is Thyatira, which represents the heart center, the seat of the soul’s desires. Pergamos, the third center is the seat of self’s desires, and is in conflict with the heart in Thyatira. This text describes soul conquering over selfish desire, as you step from self to soul at the heart, the fourth center.
“And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass; I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first.”–Revelation 2:18-19.
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has “eyes like a flame of fire,” which means that the Power was going forth as he released it to create this vision that John records. Jesus’ eyes always flashed with joy, and sparkled with a flame of Light. The eyes are the windows of the soul and you can communicate without word, with only a glance. You need not reply if another unjustly accuses you, but just stand and look at the accuser to confuse his attack.
To say that “his feet are like fine brass,” hides a mystery. Fine brass shines like gold, but is a natural alloy of copper and zinc that the ancients prized nearly as much as they did gold. The feet represent understanding, and being shod, or wearing shoes, protects your feet and keeps you standing under the Light. Brass is not magnetic and so shields the feet from the influence of earth’s magnetic currents. The Guardian Angels and all angelic messengers to earth are shod in the etheric equivalent of fine brass to render them impervious to the magnetic currents as they walk earth.
All angels belong to one of the seven groups of service headed by Archangels. All things and beings in Creation serve God’s will to bring His desires for Creation to fruition. You can offer your service on the basis of self and selfishness, or as soul service. How about your works? Are they merely duty-service—holding a job to pay for food, shelter and clothing, providing for your family, keeping your car in good working order? If so, you are asking for credits for just doing your duty. The Elect choose to serve God “just because” He is God, and serve in complete joy, never counting the cost.
Your works include many expressions of virtue, including love, service, faith, and patience. Charity is a synonym for love. Webster’s Dictionary defines charity as being “love, benevolence, good will; that disposition of heart which inclines men to think favorably of their fellow men to think favorably of their fellow men, and to do them good. In a theological sense, it includes supreme love to God, and universal good will to men.” You hear people say, “I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt,” but this is not real charity. Service, under the faith of the soul, is serving God with soul service.
“I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.”–Revelation 2:20-23.
The original Jezebel was a devotee of evil, willing to do anything, including murder, to have her way. The woman in Thyatira, who called herself Jezebel, represents perversion and all unlawful activities. She had seduced the city’s inhabitants to commit fornication, to eat unclean things, including sacrifices to idols. What do you sacrifice to idols? Do you lend your good name to gossip, curses, resentments, or criticisms? Every soul must either lift his idle words, wiping the record clean, or eat them.
Fornication is active sinning, but adultery can be passive. For example, you commit adultery when you sacrifice to false gods, or adulterate the Power of God, which is always seeking to use you. Under either fornication or adultery, you fall into great tribulation as your vibration instantly dies. Sin renders you silent, severs your contact with Power, and casts you into the bed of apathy. Some say, “I need some rest. I’m just ready to collapse.” They don’t need more rest, but more life!
Your symbolic children are your creations. “I will kill her children with death” means that thoughts of disharmony, disease, weakness, fear and doubt will kill your brain cells and your creations, your ideas and emotions. To kill means to take the life from something completely, so it has no power over you. Soul ascension of consciousness is all about dissolving the negative taints in the self. God’s Light takes the life out of evil. The seat of Satan, the seat of self as the subconscious mind of appetitive soul, is at the solar plexus.
Thyatira represents the fourth outgoing vibration of service. “Hold fast what you have till I come,” or until you have your next illumination. You get wisdom through the Christ Spirit born and strengthened in you as you obey the law. Just hold fast, clinging long enough to gain the soul illumination that will take you to your next step.
“And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father. And I will give him the morning star. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.”–Revelation 2:26-29. Jesus the Christ taught us about the power of our words and what to say legally in the eyes of the law. Your words can and must go forth for the healing of the nations. You have the right to speak the Word in his name, which is your healing mandate. The nations also represent the organs and functions of the physical body. God has given you the power for your own healing.
“He shall rule them with a rod of iron.” Your spine is your physical rod of power in a symbolic sense. The spine, as a rod of iron, gives you the stamina to stand steadfastly, unmoving, unwavering, to rule your nations. Yet you also need deep breathing that connects you with your Source. As the Power goes forth, it will shake, shatter and lift every bit of crystallization from your body, which will be healed in the process.
“Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me. Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it? Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof; when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?”–Job 38:1-7.
The original morning stars were creators, begotten and created, who descended from various sources and cities before the creation of worlds, when the Light first began to shine. We know that six days of Creation have passed, and we are in the seventh. The days are separated by long nights of rest and assimilation of experience. Everything held in abeyance since the previous day has awakened, and restarted at the point where it went to sleep. The creator gods originally descended to earth with all their soul faculties open and functioning. They were sent as Watchers to help guide and guard the consciousness evolving upward here. Most did their service well, but the greatest perpetrators of later evil were among the morning stars.
“I will give him the morning star” refers to that consciousness of belonging, of having your identity with God. Grasp it, and it builds you up, makes you a strong, joyous dawn star of Light just rising. Divine energy feeds you, and your strength comes to renew itself with the morning sun. Reach for your morning star, awaken your crown lotus petals to draw in the Light to fill you. You grow into your original stardust body of Light when you fully identify with your own morning star.
Hold an attitude of rejoicing above and beyond any earthly happiness. No more shall you sacrifice to idols with idle words. Live by your soul desires, not self. Accept your divine identity, and begin to live as God created you, as stardust, the finest Godlike substance of creation. Become a full-fledged morning star.
The White Raiment of Defense: Sardis, the Fifth Church
Edna Lister outline, June 5, 1966, Cleveland, OH, Revelation 3:1-6
“And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy. He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.”–Revelation 3:1-6.
Sardis is the fifth church mentioned in Revelation 3:1-6, and as the fifth church, it represents freedom. Sardis is associated with the physical pharyngeal nerve plexus and the throat vital center in the desire body. All physical nerve plexus centers are power stations for the brain, which soul uses. Power descends through the atomic mental body’s lotus centers, then through the desire body vital centers, which overlay the nerve plexus power stations.
The Land of Egypt holds three centers, the Promised Land holds one, and the Garden of Eden holds three. The throat center is the first power station as the soul ascends into the Garden of Eden. Every nerve in the body must pass through the pharyngeal nerve center’s control. The throat is the soul’s gateway of Power in speaking the Word. All Power is centered in the throat, and is released through the voice.
The name Sardis means “prince of joy” or “joyous dominion.” Sardis represents freedom and the life immortal, which flows through the sevenfold Power as man’s life. The keynote of your freedom to choose is to watch and to be watchful. Of the seven churches, only Sardis and Laodicea, the seventh church, are not reprimanded for adultery, fornication, or consorting with Satan.
Metaphysically, the root of the tongue is the seat of royal power, the power of decree and proclamation. The disciple Philip rules this center as Power, and Peter rules it as faith. The navel chakra, the third church, represents the little “me,” but the throat center represents “I,” the I AM of Oversoul. The “me” has no power to act alone, so any use of “me, my” or “mine” is always with the consent of the “I.” Power must come through the throat, the site of the thyroid and parathyroid glands, and the soul’s ability to speak the Word.
When you let self say, “I think. I believe. I believe, I feel bad,” your individualized “I” puts self on display and parades it in public when talking about “me, my” and “mine.” When impulsive appetitive soul takes over and projects “me,” it completely blocks all progress, ascension, expansion and illumination. Little me, indulging in grief or self-pity, causes illness. The soul must command self to ascend in consciousness. The self’s “I” must ascend to I AM consciousness.
“And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.”–Revelation 3:1-2.
“Thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead” is the result of the law—“For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.”–Matthew 13:12. When you lack desire, when you let your desire die, you can release no Power through your spoken Word.
To “be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain” requires that you praise God because it invokes Power, causing it to descend in sevenfold rays as the white Light of the Christ. Praise forms an invisible sheath around the body, which is your “white raiment.” White represents purity of heart, mind and purpose, which you must watch over, day and night. Purity of heart includes praise above and compassion below. Purity of mind permits no wandering thoughts or idle words, just mentally singing, “Holy, Holy, Holy.” Purity of purpose means that your goal is ascension and immortality. Who gave anyone the guarantee that to be happy was the goal of life on earth?
“Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy. He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.”–Revelation 3:4-5. Praise completes your identity with God in the Christed “I AM” consciousness of your Oversoul. Praise strengthens your weak and dead points. All nerves cross at the medulla oblongata at the base of the skull, and praise sets the nerves tingling. Your white raiment represents the initiation of Transfiguration when you ascend in consciousness.
Only praise can ripen the fruits of the Spirit. Your trouble arises because you pick your fruits of the Spirit while they are still green. When your individualized “I” moves up in consciousness to Oversoul’s Christed “I AM,” and allows Light to rule the tongue, Power forms this white raiment sheath around you. Nothing can withstand the rays of the Christ Light. The same Christ Light saved Daniel in the lions’ den, caused the walls of Jericho to fall, and parted the Red Sea. It most assuredly will prepare a table before you in the presence of any so-called enemy. Every morning, declare, “The Christ Light is my white raiment, my defense before the world, my protection from evil, or anything unlike God.”
The White Raiment of Defense: Sardis, the Fifth Church
Edna Lister transcript, Elizabeth Barnes, Irene White, scribes, June 5, 1966, Cleveland, OH, Revelation 3:1-6
“To the angel of the church in Sardis write, These things says he who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God. Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you. You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white, for they are worthy. He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life, but I will confess his name before my Father and before His angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”–Revelation 3:1-6.
Controversies to no end are related with daily living. Sardis is the fifth church, and five is the number of freedom to choose under law. You are part of the great whole, and your physical body is a replica of the universe in miniature. All vital desire body centers lie over nerve plexus centers, which are the body’s power centers. Power moves up and down through the seven vital centers, which are named for the seven churches.
Sardis represents the throat center, positioned behind the thyroid in the throat. The throat center is the “seat of power,” and the disciple, Philip, has charge of it. As the first important power station, it can be a block to illumination. The garden of Eden is the golden bowl, the skull and higher creative centers within the brain, the endocrine glands.
You express the Power moving in you through your voice.For this to happen though, you must follow the laws of loyalty, honor and integrity. The place to starts is with no idle words, or criticism. Christed “I AM” consciousness is dead in whatever part of you that refuses to accept. The Elect follow Jesus Christ as the Word of Light through the Gates of Power, and come to new life. Eventually, you will conquer whatever you repudiated when you did not accept your responsibility, or forgot laws, even the simple rules like please and thank you. If you can make an unwise statement, it proves that you still have an atrophied, dead place, a taint that you must conquer. Every soul must conform to law, and give up self.
The power of Christ consciousness is in the Oversoul (super-conscious mind), which uses the rational soul (conscious mind). You need increased devotion to God and compassion for your fellow man, and you will have them, if you go through the Gates of Light to release the Power of the living God. Spirit cannot be touched, so Light can heal any physical hurt at once.
You came to earth gifted with every attribute of God, and no goal is too high for you to attain. Become that which you have envisioned. Your key word is to “be watchful” at the gate, so that your “I” does not foolishly consent to the little me demands. “He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments,” which represent purity of mind, purity of heart, and purity of soul. Stand in the golden Light, and the white Light of the Christ enfolds you.
Do not pick your fruit of the Spirit while it is still green. Do not criticize, or blame, but ascend in consciousness. Your goal is God.
A Rainbow Has No End: Philadelphia, the Sixth Church
Edna Lister outline, June 12, 1966, Cleveland, OH, Revelation 3:7-13, 7:1-10
“To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.”–Revelation 3:7-13.
Philadelphia is the sixth church of the Revelation, the church of “the city of him who loves his brother,” and is associated with the vital center at the brow, the seat of love consciousness. Philadelphia symbolizes the faculty of love, rooted in the pituitary gland, the higher creative center of love, the assembly of loving thoughts. Brotherly love is fraternal and unselfish. Mother love flows through your expression of brotherly love, cleansing and purifying everything and everyone whom you contact.
The Light of the three emanations flowing through your head as Wisdom, Love and the Logos, the Word, initiates three hormone secretions from your hypothalamus, pituitary gland and pineal body that shine through your midbrain to illumine your personal soul records. This rainbow of captured Light shines on your path from your forehead. The ancients insisted that the masters of the mysteries could see and read that Light, and thus know when to instruct a soul.
The three higher emanations of Wisdom, Love and the Logos always create a rainbow when they touch earth. This, in turn, is how the three, are lowered in their rate of vibration to become the four elements on earth, earth, water, air and fire. These rainbows have no end. First they cause desire to arise as love into the pituitary gland, then will as the individualized “I am” to the pineal body to become one with Oversoul’s I AM.
“To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.”–Revelation 3:6-7.
David was the king of Israel, the holder of Power who opened the vibration for Jesus the Christ. He started the vibration to change from the law of Moses to the Messianic law of love. The “key of David” is praise. Praise is the catch-basin for the emanation of Love and holds it for the vital centers to fan it throughout the body. The open door is Oversoul’s Christ consciousness. As long as any desire to ascend, to return to God, remains within the soul, man cannot shut the door. You can open or close the door by what you loose or bind on earth and in heaven.
“Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.”–Matthew 16:9-10. Those “who say they are Jews and are not” reveals that you must lift the desires, thoughts and emotions that remain in you to a cloud of Light. Oversoul must be in charge of all of you, appetitive soul and rational soul, to worship before God’s I AM THAT I AM.
“Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.”–Revelation 3:11.
“Let no man take thy crown” refers to the crown of the head, the thousand-petaled lotus of the atomic mental body. The crown door closes every time you allow any outer experience of earth to take over your consciousness. “I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God.” The pillar is the spine, which is your personal rod of Power when you are strong in faith and the Spirit. “I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the New Jerusalem.” What do you choose for your new name? Peace? Joy? Life? Light? Rapture?
“After these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel. Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nephthalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand. After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.”–Revelation 7:1-10.
Revelation 7:1-10 describes the servants of God as twelve tribes of descended creator gods, twelve thousand from each tribe, making 144,000 in all. The ninth verse refers to them as a multitude, the 144,000 of the first life wave to descend to earth. After the fall of man, all progress in the Plan of Creation was held in abeyance until the first life wave was saved.
On October 20, 1961, we, the Elect, reached the nadir of our involvement in matter and the material consciousness of earth. Now we are well underway in the upward climb back home to God. We are His workers in the vineyards of earth, and His lifters, His speakers of the Word to lift earth from the grasp of darkness. Never forget that this is your universal mission.
A Rainbow Has No End: Philadelphia, the Sixth Church
Edna Lister transcript, Elizabeth Barnes, Ruth Johnson,
Irene White, scribes, June 12, 1966, Cleveland, OH, Revelation 3:7-12, 7:1-10
“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.”–Revelation 3:7-13.
Philadelphia, the name of the sixth church of the Revelation, means “the city of him who loves his brother,” signifying brotherly or fraternal love, and motherly love. Each church is related to a desire body vital center and a physical nerve plexus center. The pineal body and pituitary gland are the endocrine glands of wisdom and love respectively. The brow center controls the pituitary gland, and the church in Philadelphia is related to it. You, as an embodied soul, are an appetitive soul and a rational soul subject to an Oversoul, which binds you together as one. You ascend from the heart center, until your faculty of desire enters the higher creative center in your brain, to the pituitary gland for the baptisms of water and fire, and the attendant initiations of transformation and transfiguration—every embodied soul is in line to take these initiations now.
The brow center is the seat of will, and the heart center, the seat of desire. Your ascension task is to move the little self up to high desire in the pituitary gland, which functions the Love principle as intuition, part of the Oversoul’s I AM consciousness. Next, your individualized “I am” arises to the pineal body, which frees the will from the self. The pineal body functions the Wisdom principle as illumination. The process of becoming I AM, as a Christed one, is an actual ascension from the physical cells all the way to the spiritual fire body built of subatomic particles.
Three emanations become three higher breaths, which fall into the four elements—earth, water, air, and fire, also called the “four winds,” named for the four cardinal directions. The four lower degrees of breath are composed of the chemical combinations possible with the four elements; the three higher degrees of breath are are expressions of the emanations of Love, Wisdom, and the Logos of Energy. Every deep breath holds all seven degrees of breath. Your deep breath descends the spine and ascends through the desire body vital centers, which are the circulating fans of vitality in the physical body. They blow the lower breaths to mingle with the three higher breaths.
Ordinarily, you walk through the world pushing 14.7 pounds of pressure per square inch. When you breathe deeply in the morning and periodically throughout the day, the River of Life enters your golden bowl as Love, Wisdom, and Power, the world pressure parts and you can move through your day effortlessly. Love flows into the pituitary gland; Wisdom flows through the pineal body, and the whole breath flows through the midbrain when the Logos, releases it through the physical hypothalamus. The River of Life cleanses the hormones and neurotransmitters in the bloodstream, as it flows through the midbrain neurons, and opens your personal soul records.
The desire body vital centers equalize the flow of Power through the physical body as you breathe, constantly rebuilding your body through live-giving arterial blood and hormone secretions, if you believe and let it. You contact the three higher degrees of breaths as you lift will to its seat of power at the brow center. When the emanations flow as the River of Life, they contact the four angels of the winds. Then the three emanations fall into the four elements within you, and an endless figure-eight rainbow appears on your brow; the rainbow’s colors show what you are conquering. Light shines through the brow, but when self-will takes over, it turns off the Light. When you ascend your will, the brow window clears, and Light shines forth again.
“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”–Matthew 16:19. The “key of David” is praise, which opens the door of your crown to illumination and intuition, and starts the figure-eight-shaped bands of Light oscillating in your desire body to hold you in balance. Never work for peace, but for illumination. Praise opens the door to God’s I AM THAT I AM. His Light loosens whatever you place in His hands, so He can work it together for good. After you have opened the Christed “I AM” center, only you can shut that door by binding yourself to earth again. When you make a prayer mold, you must keep the door open to fill it. If you close the door, your mold springs leaks, and you have no place to go for a refill.
“Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.“–Revelation 3:9-10. The pretender Jews mentioned here represent the “little me” of appetitive soul that binds the embodied soul on earth. The true Jews are the high soul faculties that bow at the feet of the emanations. For example, when you surrender your guilt or sorrow, you bow before the higher creative center and the Light goes forth to cleanse your soul.
“Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.”–Revelation 3:9-10. Your “crown” of mental body lotus petals grows from the lighted nerve endings in your brain when you hunger and thirst after righteousness. In 1936, I said that medicine would someday have a light to revitalize nerves. This invention, the laser, is coming from the plans that were already circulating in the River of Life. “I will write upon him my new name.” Your new name is whatever you call yourself. If you say, “I am dumb,” your name is Dumb! Say, “I am joy and my name is Joy!” This is your heritage, for as the Master said, “I leave you my joy.”
“And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel. Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nephthalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand. After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.”–Revelation 7:1-10.
The Scripture of 144,000 in the tribes with the seven churches signals a new release of Power and begins a new vibration. Reading about the twelve tribes is important today—we use it as a clarion call to each of the 12,000 descended souls from each tribe, who came under the banner of Christ, to get busy! Twelve thousand souls will always descend from each of the twelve inner Golden Cities to begin a new Day of Manifestation. As the Elect, we descended to earth as part of the first life wave, whose number is always 144,000. Many became enthralled with earth and slipped from their original mission. The King’s Chamber of the Great Pyramid opened September 16, 1936, when the first life wave entered the higher creative center. Some from the first life wave have dropped back, and others of the second have ascended and taken their places.
Yet the clarion call has gone forth! On October 20, 1961, we, the Elect, completed our involvement in the material world of earth and we have begun the long, steep ascent home to God.
I Stand at the Door: Laodicea, the Seventh Church
Edna Lister outline, June 19, 1966, Cleveland, OH, Revelation 3:14-21
“And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.”–Revelation 3:14-21.
The church of the Laodiceans is the final church mentioned in the Revelation. Laodicea was a wealthy city that lay only forty miles from Ephesus in the Lycus River valley of what today Turkey. Laodicea is associated with the crown center and the pineal body in the brain. The secretions of the pineal body and the pituitary gland rule of the higher creative center, under the direction and control of the hypothalamus, the main link between your endocrine system and your nervous system. The hypothalamus maintains your body balance, its homeostasis.
The promise to the Laodiceans includes all the Hebrew children of Israel, the sons of Abraham through the line of Isaac and Jacob. God promised them a “land flowing with milk and honey,” identified as Canaan, but which also refers to the hormones secreted by the pineal body and pituitary gland. The pineal body secretes a white sand-like hormone, and the pituitary gland secretes a honey-like substance created after Light flows through the pineal body. Without this “milk and honey,” which releases the proper thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), the body will run on a deficiency basis.
“I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.”–Revelation 3:18. To be tried in the fire is to burn away the self in sacrifice for the soul. The eye-salve is the balm of compassion. Everything you do is in the Light of the Christ. When you stand in this Light, every shadow cast by an idle word or neglect is a rebuke and a call to ascend in consciousness.
Laodicea represents judgment, good or poor, righteous or self-righteous. The brow center is the seat of judgment, the center of a desire body vital center and a mental body lotus center. This makes it the rod that holds thinking and imagination in perfect balance. Wisdom is cold, but Love’s intuition is hot. The crown center, the thousand-petaled lotus, which holds the platform of the Oversoul star, is the throne room. Laodicea is the seat, or throne, of judgment, where desire, thinking and imagination become one with God. You use the pineal body and pituitary gland as instruments to accomplish this. When your desire dies, your fire goes out. Thus, you may blow either hot or cold, yet being either extreme, overly wise or overly zealous, is better than indifference.
Love is the gold tried in the fire. When you lift self and subordinate it to soul, it burns away the dross of self’s lukewarmness. Hot or cold, when self takes charge, soul abdicates the throne of good judgment. Will divorces itself from Wisdom, rationalization takes charge, and a motley fool holds the throne. Rationalization creates disintegration. You receive no answer about anything in prayer when your good judgment is asleep. When you fill your prayers with the riches of joy and praise Wisdom sitsin the seat of judgment, your high place of right decisions, where you make up your own mind.
“So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.”–Revelation 3:16. The mouth represents assimilation, but opinions, prejudices, fears and doubts hold nothing worthwhile to assimilate. When law reacts to chasten you, Spirit spews your lukewarmness. If you maintain watch over the self, you need no further chastening. When you are being lukewarm or rationalizing, you cast a shadow, like a heavy dark cloud obscuring the sun. When you are rebuked or chastised, ascend in consciousness and open the door!
“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”–Revelation 3:20. Reach for the stars in praise. Sit enthroned on the Christ consciousness, until all your creative centers are whirling and open. As your lotus petals blossom, you experience all rapture, soul triumph and victory over darkness. Create your goal, hold fast to your vision of the good, build the mold and fill it!
I Stand at the Door: Laodicea, the Seventh Church
Edna Lister transcript, Irene White, scribe, June 19, 1966, Cleveland, OH, Revelation 3:14-21
“And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.”–Revelation 3:14-21.
Laodicea is the seventh church of the crown center in the golden bowl, the head. When you have moved up in consciousness to the crown of super-conscious mind, you awaken the brain cells and listen for the Voice of God. The number 44 is an important symbol. Four is number of the pineal body, the Light of illumination, and also the number of the pituitary gland of intuition. Forty-four is two fours, symbolizing the soul’s ascension to the high place, where you may center your spiritual life in perfection.
The first life wave holds 144,000 creator gods who descended to earth. God promised the children of Israel a land flowing with milk and honey, which refers to the higher creative center in the brain. When the Light of God fills the pineal body with honey-like wisdom, and the pituitary gland with love’s milk, you do have a “land flowing with milk and honey.” Deep breathing is necessary, and the sacrifice of self on love’s altar fires. You have this great ability to change your life. The crown center sits atop the body’s rod of power of Light, which goes right down the spine to the sacrum, the sacral plexus.
“I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.”–Revelation 3:15-16. You create with the words of your mouth, but lukewarmness in speech produces a great big blob of waste. “I would thou wert cold or hot” means that some kind of vibration of action is happening. If you allow yourself to cool down to lukewarm, you will never receive the answer to prayer. God cannot give you your answer before you have earned it. With just one little thought of indifference, down you come in vibration!—rationalization ices your soul’s vibration and stops you cold. Maintain the balanced middle course—bless, bless, and praise, praise!
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, and dine with him, and he with me.”–Revelation 20-21. When you disobey law, you mock the Master. When the Master knocks at your door but you do not answer, you cast a shadow that sits on your own throne of judgment and thus earn a rebuke.
The seven churches of the Revelation represent vital powers in your own body, which generate your physical substance of love, and your mental wisdom. God gave you the power of choice when He made you. You bring your personal degree of perfection into the Light according to your own hungering and thirsting after righteousness. You can always improve your degree of perfection by ascending to your throne of good judgment, into the Light, where you are the living ensample of the Light moving through you. Your love and praise refine the dross of self from the gold of soul. You buy this gold, refined in the fire of love when the Love of God possesses you.
Decree and Establish
Edna Lister outline, June 26, 1966, Cleveland, OH. Memorial Service for H. John Johnson, husband of Ruth Johnson. Luke 17:1-4, 1 Corinthians 15:40-55
“Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come! It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.”–Luke 17:1-4.
“There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: it is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?”–1 Corinthians 15:40-55.
A Memorial Service makes contact between earth and heaven for those who are left behind when their loved ones climb to God. Death is a passing, a transition from one state of consciousness to another. What the world calls death is an extension of eternal life. A live wire connects the soul to the Source. At the moment of physical death, an explosion of atoms frees the soul’s life sparks to ascend. Heaven is both a state of consciousness and a place to go. On one breath, you exhale, ending here and beginning there, in heaven.
“There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: it is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body.”–1 Corinthians 15:40-44.
So-called death is exactly like stepping from an old house into the spiritual body you already occupy. You take yourself along. The inner realms lie just beyond your fingertips. After passing to the other side, you first go through a period of assimilation of all your life’s experiences. “It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body.” The natural body is the physical sheath. You raise it in incorruption until it is enfolded in the spiritual body. You are each walking in a star dust body right now.
“Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”–1 Corinthians 15:50-51. “We shall not all sleep” means that you can realize that immortality of soul is now yours. You can walk in a spiritual body now by living according to the law of nonresistance through sacrifice, selflessness and surrender.
Surrender of self brings you to forgiveness. You cannot surrender while holding a grudge. Nonresistance is forgiveness. As you give, Light cleanses you until you no longer remember the offense. Your task is to wash your own page white. You must forgive seven times in a day and seventy times seven, the Master said, until the memory of the debt is wiped out.
People practice forgiveness in two ways. “Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.”–Luke 17:3-4. Forgiving a trespasser seven times in a day is difficult. His “I’m sorry” is usually blithely irresponsible and sincere only from the teeth out. Either he does not know it is an offense or he is doing it deliberately, enjoying your squirming or indifferent attitude. Forgiveness is your first duty because you yourself desire perfection. Are you afraid to decree, to declare, “I AM healed”? Every soul decree you make and hold is deathless and abiding.
“So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?”–1 Corinthians 15:54-55. To give up the old doubts and fears in favor of new glory is a form of death in consciousness. “O death, where is thy victory?” Establish your decrees through praise. Praise holds your creative prayer molds firmly, with integrity. Praise insures that your molds will never fade or leak. So, decree, “I am immortal. I am incorruptible. I am healed now. I now live in a star dust body that is deathless, ageless and abiding.”
Decree and Establish
Edna Lister transcript, June 26, 1966, Cleveland, OH. Memorial Service for H. John Johnson, husband of Ruth Johnson. Elizabeth Barnes, Ruth Johnson, Irene White, scribes. Luke 17:1-4, 1 Corinthians 15:40-55.
“Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come! It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.”–Luke 17:1-4.
“There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: it is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?”–1 Corinthians 15:40-55.
Everyone has his own way of bridging the abyss between earth and heaven. Religion is supposed to be your bridge between the physical and spiritual worlds, but first religion must permeate your physical, emotional, mental and spiritual lives to complete the bridge. You walk in an inner atomic body, and this makes you immortal now. Yet many fight their way through life resisting, condemning people, or criticizing government. Resistance and conflict cause aging. God designed you to live by the law of nonresistance, which means you must loose the world and let it go. Free the world of you to be free of the world.
Nonresistance is selfless, and requires you to surrender self. Stop living by doubts, fears, prejudices and opinions. You cannot afford to repudiate anything that comes to you, or give someone a piece of your mind. Resistance in all its forms, including criticism, takes a toll on your physical body, and causes all illness. God created you for His Power to use — believe this, with no indifference, and be convinced this divine Power is moving through you. This is the law of forgiveness that leads to eternal life. Most of people have not learned how to love or to forgive.
“Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come! It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.”–Luke 17:1-4.
Jesus commanded us to forgive seventy times seven times. If you forgive anything that often, you will not even see it anymore. Do not pay any attention to offenses. Make forgiveness a sacrifice of your reaction. Surrender to God, and look at the Light. Ponder how great is the Light, life and glory of God. Declare, “Let there be Light” so Light moves through your body until you radiate Light. “It is impossible but that offences will come.” Say, “I’m putting you on a cloud continent of Light” to cover the offense with Light. Tell God, “I’m giving them to You to heal” and “Let there be Light!” are the healing declarations you can give for everything that happens to you.
Encircle the offender with Light, saying, “I give you Light instead of what you are sending forth.” Let them be in the Light. “Father, take care of them. Father, prepare a table for these would-be enemies, and let them be held on a cloud continent of Light.” The greatest frustration to the offensive one is to say, “I think you are wonderful!” Stand and smile as you put him in the Light. The most impossible things of earth are possible to God. Release enough substance to fill your prayer mold. Ask for Light to do it, and the overflow may fill someone else’s mold as an answered prayer. Praise God for everything you can think of, to keep your mold filled with praise.
“There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: it is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.”–1 Corinthians 15:40-44.
Death is a transition, not only from one place to another, but from one state of consciousness to another. Heaven is both a place and a state of consciousness. At death, you leave the body easily, one-half breath here and one-half breath there. Great Guards and loved ones always meet the formerly embodied soul.
You cannot kill life. If an individual had misused all life sparks to the point of complete evil, the rational soul would lose identity. Yet even if these life sparks are purified in the lake of fire, and lose their name, number and identity, God will gather them together at a new Day of Manifestation, and form a new soul. That soul will return to earth with a new name and number. Anyone who is avid on a new subject has some life sparks with a new name and number.
“And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.”–1 Corinthians 15:45-50.
Paul wanted the Corinthians to get over their unbalanced idea that they were living on earth in a spiritual body. You have three bodies, a physical cell sheath, molecular, atomic, and an electronic fire body under construction. These bodies penetrate and permeate the physical daily. You are as immortal right now as you will ever be. When you declare, “Let there be Light!” you stand in the Light. Light condenses, and you can walk in a stardust body. The Elect are sloughing off the heavy crystallization gradually, and walk now in a molecular-atomic body. When you ascend, the inner body vehicles make you immortal. Yet you must remain balanced, here and now.
The principle of nonresistance is the greatest law of God under which you live. The outer sheath is the total of your resistance in life, including personal resistance such as political opinions. Loose the world and let it go. Be concerned with selfless sacrificial surrender, even of self doubts, fears, opinions and prejudices. People die by the score rather than live by nonresistance, which is the pure law of love. No one cares about your opinions, since they’re too busy fanning the fires of their own. This kind of self expression is the seat of all illness. You surrender self to let the Power use you.
The law of forgiveness is eternal life, and it means “to give love for.” Most people have not even learned how to love. Two sets of laws on forgiveness apply: First, if your brother repents, forgive him even if he repeats the offense and has to repent seven times. Peter, in frustration, asked how long he had to stand. Jesus replied, “seventy times seven.” The beauty is that by the time you have forgiven seventy times seven, you see only Light and not the offense. How can the offender’s apologies register when you hate and resent? Forgive him 490 times under selfless sacrificial surrender.
To so many people, it seems much easier to escape than to forgive. Yet when you cross the offensive one off your list, you lie in a sarcophagus of your own making, until finally you have no friends. Forgiveness is looking at the Light, life and glory of God so that the spiritual body can be an open channel to heal the physical. Pray that Light heals the adversary. Put him on a cloud, calling down the fire of heaven for his healing. You have choice. What do you give for all the things, positive or negative, happy or unhappy, that happen to you? Say, “I think you’re wonderful!” to one who offends you.
Do you recreate the negative, or say, “Father, let there be Light!”? Say to the offender, “I give you Light and love instead of what you are sending forth.” The Father is eager to hear your selfless words. The principle of nonresistance works only under the law of God. You can conquer and lift your consciousness above the mundane. “Father, please prepare a table in Light for this soul.”
Wait until you have released enough Light to fill a mold. Keep envisioning the substance increasing within the mold. God does not allow any prayers to go unheard. When a person does not respond to prayer physically during an illness, the Light did not permeate his spiritual body while he was here, but he is healed on the inner. Bridge the abyss from here to the inner with “Let there be Light! Let there be Love!”
The Prayers of the Elect
Edna Lister outline, International New Thought Alliance 51st Congress, July 3, 1966, Los Angeles, CA, Matthew 24:22
“Except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.”–Matthew 24:22.
The prayers of the Elect always have been, are, and always wil be doing God’s perfect work. Light is denuding evil of all power. Do you believe this? The same Power that created the world is now recreating it. This is the one Power.
“I now surrender to be used by this Power.” God did not create us to use this Power, but to be used by it. “Not I, but the Father works hitherto.”
Whenever I forgive, the Light I release as forgiveness lifts more evil into the Light. Evil needs darkness in which to work, so when I cover evil with Light, it has no power to act or to influence. I refuse to have enemies. I ignore darkness, saying, “This is Good! Let there be Light!” No one can touch my creative prayer molds except me. When God says “yes,” man’s “no” is worthless and powerless.
I can say, “Thou hast prepared a table for me in the presence of my loved ones” because I have no enemies! I give Light, which is forgiveness, for everything that comes to me. “I shall dwell in the House of the Lord forever!”
Your Eternal Destiny
Edna Lister Prayer Circle outline, October 3, 1966, Washington, D.C. Ephesians 4:4-8
“There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.”–Ephesians 4:8.
Ours is the great age of miracles. Miracles come in two types, mystical miracles, which result from prayer, and scientific miracles, which result from labor and hard work. You find yourself forced to work hard when you forget that only one Source, one Substance, one Power and one Mind exist. Only one Light exists; without the Breath, life fails.
Miracles of science and technology began with a log across a stream and progressed to stepping stones. Then they produced the first bridge, anchored on the stream banks, to huge suspension designs that loft the road into the sky. Someone cut the first wheel from stone, which has progressed to the jet propellers that work on electronic power. All these inventions are examples of the one Mind acting on the one Substance in many forms to produce varying degrees of the one Power.
In all this, what is your destiny? Your inheritance is “all that the Father hath.” It’s an individual matter: What do I, personally, believe? What do I think? Do I run on a part-time basis, or do I give God my all?
God moves into your soul and into every affair-mold and outer part of your life with all His Power. He takes over and brings every prayer request to pass on one high conscious breath. You then keep the Power moving and active through continued deep, high breathing, which both releases and draws it from the Source. The Source is open to all alike, according to their faith. Great visions require great Power in a continuous flow.
Your courage, conviction and burning desire must grow up to match the size of your vision. Vision touches the Source of All Substance, which is Light. Light must be lowered in vibration to become concrete and solid as form in outer substance. Water is one substance that gives us physical life. As steam and vapor it is too high in vibration to see. As ice, it is too low in vibration to drink. A too-low vibration always results in crystallization, which describes disease.
Part of your destiny is the ability to hold substance at that point of form where it can be seen. Joy is your great gift, by which you may envision your inheritance. You create because you are a creator. Every vision touches its own reserve of substance, enough to become your fulfilled desire. Praise siphons substance from the Source to lower it into your creative molds. So, use each day’s supply of Light and life. Like manna, enough falls only for today. You cannot run on yesterday’s depleted, stale life. Instead, you praise today to produce today’s manna. Inhale today’s fresh supply. You cannot even use this morning’s Power.
Physical life hasa beginning, a middle and a end, but the soul's life is eternal. How do you create with this eternal Godlike, God-given substance? Do you bog down in worldly ideas and doubt God? Praise takes the Power from evil’s grasp. Praise bridges the chasms you may have created with idle words. Your words return to you for nourishment. Do you speak more idle words than high-vision words? Your destiny is “You are gods. I and the Father are one. Let there be Light.” Your destiny, knowing that God is over all, is to feed on life eternal, hour by hour, for this is your manna. A wise soul once said, “I am on fire for Christ. And when I preach, people come to watch me burn.” When you are set afire, you know that God has taken charge.
Choice, a Glorious Foundation
Edna Lister outline, October 16, 1966, Cleveland, OH, 1 Corinthians 3
“And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal? Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are laborers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building. According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain. Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours; whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; and ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s.”–1 Corinthians 3.
Today is beautiful because we are in the center of a great age of miracles. Miracles come in two distinctly different types, mystical miracles and scientific miracles. Mystical miracles result from prayer. Scientific miracles are the product of labor. Both forms of miracles come from the one Source, the one Mind, the one Substance and the one Power. Both forms arrive through God as personality using principle.
Labor is physical or mental exertion directed toward a specific task. To labor is “to strive, to exert oneself to accomplish something,” but it also can mean “to labor under a false impression.” Man has moved, technologically, from stepping stones and a log across the stream to huge bridges that are engineering and artistic marvels. Through the one Mind, you are always creating from what are termed “two
To cause substance to take on some form, a personality requires an identity for its soul-existence, a foundation on which to stand. You must have choice in all things, so God has given you this—you are free to choose. To create miracles, you must identify with both the personality of God and His principles. You must identify with the foundation of form, God’s Son, Jesus the Christ.
Scientific miracles require that you must “see to believe.” You can “believe to see” a mystical miracles. To choose is “to select, to prefer one way or one thing over another.” To create miracles, you must be identified with principle, with God as the Source of principle. This is your choice. Today, many people believe they have no choice. They are blown about by the winds of opinions, permissive in action, informed by erosive permissiveness through the churches. Like a child with a razor, people need firmness in leadership. Countries lack good leaders because people have little or no identity with the goodness of God themselves, in mass. If you cannot give assurance, you cannot expect others to provide that assurance to you.
“I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal? Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?”–1 Corinthians 3:1-5. These verses describe the conditions of the world. Churches need teachers who have a firm foundation in Jesus Christ. Only then shall the people have identity with God as their Source and as their goal.
You can physically measure scientific miracles. Yet to discern many mystical miracles, you must believe in faith to see. Soul knowing manifests in different ways. Some smell the fragrance but cannot see the flowers. Many hear music but cannot see the angel choirs or symphony orchestras in the cities of heaven.
It remains your choice to look up in consciousness objectively, or down at the subjective world of appearances. Mao Zedong destroyed the books in China and tore down the schools to obliterate knowledge of the soul, yet this will not stop faith in God or the ascension of mankind.
Ascension of consciousness gives you a foundation, such as Paul described when he spoke of himself and Apollos. When you build wrongly, the heavenly fire will destroy your creations but will save your soul. Christ is your foundation, the Vine of whom you are many branches. To be fruitful, you must live by personal responsibility and nonresistance.
In Moses’ day, God fed His children manna that lasted for only one day. He provided that manna fresh daily. Today, through His Son Jesus Christ, our Father feeds us eternal life through the Breath of Life. You cannot run on yesterday’s breathing. So gather your heavenly manna as the Breath of all life from above, every hour. It is free for your choosing and breathing. God’s Breath of Life is always flowing from the Source.
Choice, a Glorious Foundation
Edna Lister transcript, October 16, 1966, Cleveland, OH. Elizabeth Barnes, Ruth Johnson, Irene White, scribes. 1 Corinthians 3.
“And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal? Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are laborers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building. According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain. Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours; whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; and ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s.”–1 Corinthians 3.
Miracles come in two varieties, mystic and scientific. You believe you will see a mystical miracle, while you have to see a scientific miracle to believe it. You cannot have a miracle without the main ingredients of divine personality and principle.
What ails the world? Countries lack leaders who provide a firm foundation. More importantly, Christians lack a clear identity with God and thus are blown about by the four winds. Some throw away their inheritance, weep and muddy the ground around them with their tears. Others tolerate and sanction erosive permissiveness which allows people to retrogress.
You cannot live without a foundation in God, and Jesus, the Christed of God, is your foundation. You cannot live without an identity, so you must identify with God, the Source. God has provided us a space suit of protection, a cushion of blue Light. You are immortal! You are living in eternity now! Eternal life is everywhere evenly present, and has been from the beginning. Stars can explode, planets can implode, nations can fail, but God goes on forever.
Mystical miracles come through prayer and labor. Scientific miracles come through labor and prayer. A poet said, “Prayer is the soul’s sincere desire, uttered or unexpressed.”
He who evades work and seeks to escape his responsibilities in life works just as hard as those who produce. Electric lights, the great bridges of the world, instant communication and jet flight are scientific technological miracles. All progress is a miracle, from the two seeds of life that form the body of a child to the healing of the body or affairs. People who have been called back from death are often the recipients of a mystical miracle through prayer.
“Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.”–1 Corinthians 3:16-17. God fashioned us according to His eternal law of all love, all courage, all everything, all good. Your application of God’s Power and Substance as personality gives you identity with Him. You can draw upon the Breath of Life to touch the Source anytime.
Paul asked, “For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?”– 1 Corinthians 3:3. Today’s erosive permissiveness is creating a new cult of phallic worship and perversions. Permissiveness results when parents exert no control over their children, so you must put the Power of love into all you do or say. You would not permissively sanction evil, yet complaining, criticizing, worry and negativity all cause divisiveness and strife. When you are truly tolerant instead of just tolerating, you are no longer aware of strife because you have become the law of tolerance. Heavenly pride in the law of tolerance gives no permissive sanction to evil.
Do you have God and weakness and ill health or God as health and all good? You cannot have God and, but God as the one Mind that you can contact to move through your creative faculties. Say, “Let a shaft of Light move through this” person or thing. Are you declaring, “Let there be Light!” when you see evil anywhere? How often a day do you say this when you see, read about or hear of evil? Do not sanction evil with your silence.
Every time you swat erosive permission, you serve as an instrument of God. For example, declare, “Let there be Light in all drugs, and perversions, to strip them and reveal them.” When you take a deep breath and declare Light is in “it,” whatever it is, you tap the Source of God, which then moves into “it’s” source of supply. Thus, God uses you for His work. This is a mystic miracle that you must believe to see it. God gives the increase as promotions and rewards on the inner. Practice steadfastness as you labor in God’s vineyard. “Let there be Light!” is mystical prayer as you labor. Declare, “I am of the Source. The Light as Power does the work.” Pay no attention to delays, which are nothing more to God's Power than gopher holes on the trail.
The breath of life is your day’s manna. You cannot use yesterday’s manna, faith, Power or Light. Manna falls fresh every hour. You have a firm foundation in the River of the Christed Life. This is your heritage now, eternal life, and divine omnipresence, omniscience and omnipotence. The Spirit of God is your begotten portion, your identity as a star, prince, princess or creator.
Labor is either physical or mental. When you labor and say, “Let there be Light!” the Light moves into your project. You do labor when you pray. How often do you have to make yourself pray? It takes steadfastness, determination, the love of God, and faith to produce the mystic miracles you need. Your relationships are all categorized under the mystic miracle of labor.
The world accepts a scientific miracle only after it has been accomplished, and some always refuse to accept. Accept your inheritance and do not deviate from it. Do not lose your identity with God because worldly problems beset you. Why do you waver, doubt, or lose faith? Declare, “I am of the Source. The Power does the work.” This is the Source of all healing. You can touch nothing that is not of the one Power and Substance of God. Delays are the gopher holes into which you stumble.
God said, “Let there be manna,” to the children of Israel, and manna lay on the ground like snow. The law was that they could pick enough for only one day, but the leftovers would spoil. The Breath of Life is your day’s manna. You cannot use yesterday’s Breath of Life today or you are using spoiled manna, which depletes the body’s atomic substance and brings on old age. You shrivel up because you try to live on the manna given when you were younger. Manna falls fresh every day. When you say, “Let there be Light!” you invoke fresh Light daily. Do this and you can experience new mystic miracles daily. It is your choice, a glorious foundation of life.
Uttered or unexpressed,
The motion of a hidden fire
That trembles in the breast.
Prayer is the burden of a sigh,
The falling of a tear,
The upward glancing of an eye
When none but God is near.
Prayer is the simplest form of speech
That infant lips can try;
Prayer the sublimest strains that reach
The majesty on high.
Prayer is the contrite sinner’s voice
Returning from his ways,
While angels in their songs rejoice,
And cry: “Behold, he prays!”
Prayer is the Christian’s vital breath,
The Christian’s native air,
Our watchword at the gate of death;
We enter heaven with prayer.
O thou by whom we come to God,
The Life, the Truth, the Way!
The path of prayer thyself hast trod:
Lord, teach us how to pray!
–James Montgomery
Your Treasure House
Edna Lister outline, October 23, 1966, Cleveland, OH, 2 Corinthians 5:1-10, 20, Isaiah 45:2-3, Matthew 6:19-21, 13:44
“For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad... Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.”–2 Corinthians 5:1-10, 20.
“I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron: And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the Lord, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel.”–Isaiah 45:2-3.
“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”–Matthew 6:19-21.
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.”–Matthew 13:44.
Any church is a House of the Lord, a house made not with hands. The shocking statements made by agnostic and atheistic professors and ministers are causing an uproar today. Professors ridicule the sacraments such as baptism and communion, while some ministers proclaim that God is dead.
Jesus spoke of the church when he said, “I am the vine. Ye are the branches.” The church is founded on the “rock of faith” as a living organism. Men have now reduced it to a mechanism, rattling itself to death.
The House of the Lord, the church, is not dependent on the U.N., NATO or President Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society. Nor is it dependent on any other man-made bishop or arrangement. The church has survived countless decadent and collapsing civilizations. The church has an eternal destiny. No words of man can change this. Of course, the church looks awkward to agnostics, ungraceful, positioned as they are with one foot on earth and the other in heaven. Yet if you pull that one foot from heaven, what remains? Nothingness and such tripe as “God is dead.” The theologians are dying like dinosaurs, not God. The church today must refurnish itself, and make Christ live. No one wants to hear another atheist “newscaster” issuing hourly bulletins. People really want an answer that only Jesus the Christ gives, not slogans or double-talk. They want an answer from the oracles of God.
Just what are the furnishings of the House of the Lord? “For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. Now He that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.”–2 Corinthians 5:1-5.
In this “earthly house” you groan. The body is your personal temple of the living God, and the tabernacle is the same. Your temple has four parts. The outer physical sheath is subject to outer laws, ills, aches, pains, broken bones, germs and many viruses. Yet God has equipped you to conquer physical life. You earnestly desire to be clothed with your “heavenly house,” which is the molecular desire body. You cannot see the desire body, for molecules are invisible until brought together into cells. Unless this invisible heavenly house clothes you, you are naked, vulnerable to viruses and germs. Your heavenly house confers immunity. Ascension of consciousness, to be aware of and to dwell in the higher levels of being, is the only way to become conscious of your soul’s immortality. Your next house is the atomic vehicle, the body of your mental life. The atoms themselves form the storehouse of your heavenly manna. Each ascending heavenly body enables you to make higher contact with God. The fire body, built of electrons, houses the divine fire to which you surrender to burn out the dross of the lesser houses, or bodies.
The fifth chapter of the Second Letter to Corinthians, the first five verses, deal with these protective heavenly bodies. In the second five verses, it deals with the Spirit and soul of the descended soul dwelling in this House of the Lord. “Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. Wherefore we labor, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.”–2 Corinthians 5:6-11.
This passage speaks of a “soul flight,” or that highest point of contemplative comprehension where earth fades out of your awareness. The difference between meditation and contemplation is significant. Contemplation begins with the prefix “con,” meaning contra or against. Contemplation draws your attention away from mere appearances; it means “to peruse carefully, to direct, hold, connect and conclude.” Meditation is a static condition that leads to inertia. When you contemplate, you experience more and more life because divine Mind is acting on your mental equipment and brain cells. Divine Mind acts directly on your memory cells. Contemplation is an exercise that makes your memory vital. You labor to learn how and practice being fully conscious and “present” in the House of the Lord, or you remain “absent” from God consciousness.
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.”–2 Corinthians 5:10. The tenth verse refers to the law of cause and effect, action and reaction, which Eastern religions and philosophies call karma. This verse deals with the “furnishings” in your treasure house. Your stored-up treasures—desires, thinking and imagination—penetrate and permeate each body or house you have. Yet you must still throw out the old to make room and refurnish your house.
You do have help in doing this: “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”–Matthew 6:19-21.
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.”–Matthew 13:44. Your new treasure house furnishings depend on your choice today. Lukewarmness lengthens the time it takes into delay. Indifference and lukewarmness are the fundamental causes of all delay. Rapturous love, devotion and sacrifice of self shorten the time it takes to see the miracles in your life.
Society is now going through the initiations of universal Fatherhood and Motherhood. A single spoken Word now releases greater Power than ever. I call down the immunity and protection of my heavenly house. I make today as beautiful as I can for my God. I rejoice and know that my Father does the work. I call down heavenly houses to refurnish every church. Light shall heal ministers as they step into their pulpits. Evil has run its course! The only way to furnish the outer churches with the House of the Lord is to call down the heavenly body of the Christ Light. The only way to furnish the house, the physical sheath in which you dwell, is to call down your “heavenly body.”
Hear ye, O My People—“I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron: And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the Lord, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel.”–Isaiah 45:2-3.
Your Treasure House
Edna Lister transcript, October 23, 1966, Cleveland, OH, Elizabeth Barnes, Ruth Johnson, Irene White, scribes. 2 Corinthians 5:1-10, 20, Isaiah 45:2-3, Matthew 6:19-21, 13:44
“For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad... Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.”–2 Corinthians 5:1-10, 20.
“I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron: And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the Lord, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel.”–Isaiah 45:2-3.
“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”–Matthew 6:19-21.
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.”–Matthew 13:44.
The House of the Lord has always been the name for all churches and temples. Yet, in this hour, when those trained to furnish the house of Lord should make it a glory and power for good, they make it a mock. Agnostic ministers have stripped religion of sacraments, furnished its houses with the darkness of intellect, and are demoting God. People waver in their faith and ask if the churches are doomed. Everyone who lives by the Golden Rule is building up what others are trying to tear down. The church has not run its course, but the world has had it. Most Christians stand with one foot planted in heaven and the other on earth.
Here St. Paul paints a picture of a church founded upon rock to make it stable and lasting. The theologians are dying of fossilized ideas, not God. Just as the house of the Lord has withstood decadent nations and civilizations, every church shall become a house of the Lord. We declare that wherever a minister steps into the pulpit, he will step into a shaft of Light and receive a shock as Paul did on the road to Damascus.
The first five verses in this text from the Second Letter to Corinthians talk about a house, like the houses we live in. The rest describes those who dwell in them, and what happens to them. “For we know that if our earthly house, this tabernacle [tent], is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.”–2 Corinthians 5:1. We have outgrown our earthly houses and yearn for God’s.
“For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life.”–2 Corinthians 5:2-3. He who stands naked is unprotected by Light, so he groans, aches and fears, as he listens to propaganda. “Now he who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee” refers to sublimation, which means to live by Spirit. Declaring, “I am the strength of the living God. I am protective Power,” brings the miracles.
Heaven’s house exists in the molecular grade of substance. It comes forth under right living. Man is sloughing off cells and the outer sheath. The tabernacle is your fire, mental and desire bodies combined. Physical organs that have been removed shall become visible again because man is ascending his vibration.
The mental body is atomic. Death consists of the atoms collapsing. You can resuscitate a drowned person only if atoms of his lungs have not collapsed. The fire body can take Light from the Source. Lightning is a lowered vibration of Power from the Source. Atomic power is greater than the power of lightning. In this age you are privileged to live in a tabernacle that is a fitting habitation for the soul. If you call forth heavenly a body in your tabernacle, you will be immune to all negativity, germs, and contagious disease.
“While we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight.”–2 Corinthians 5:6. Many would rather be absent from the body and be present with the Lord. Sometimes people get sick or commit suicide at this point. You build your own heaven or hell. You pay your debts according to what you have done to your body and you pay the debt on your original creation.
When you call the House of Lord down into your tabernacle, which is living by Light, you plant both feet in heaven, which eventually consumes all obstacles on the outer. When you try to please your family on earth, you straddle the fence, with one foot here and one there. When you are up in consciousness, the subconscious mind takes care of details as it was designed to do.
“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”–Matthew 6:19-21. Heaven is your treasure house. The practice of living with both feet in heaven comes under the great principle of comprehension, which is high contemplation, not meditation. Contemplation is study, to struggle toward the common ground of knowledge, to illumination. Meditation leads to inertia, a static condition.
Step into the Light and contemplate the Wisdom of God in action, so you will no longer be naked. No virus, no allergy or disease can touch you, no “same old” fear. This shortens time. Meditation delays time. Some who meditate just go to sleep. Yet not everyone becomes inert during meditation. Some ascend in consciousness to contemplative meditation. You can be healed in meditation, then recreate the same ills until your beautiful desire body becomes ill again.
To contemplate in Light is a memory cure. Any “sleeping” memory cells awaken because the fire of the living God is not static; it consumes any block and recreates perfection in its wake. Finally you come to point where you sell all that you have for the pearl of great price. The treasures in your storehouse are desire, thinking, and imagination.
You can choose to accelerate time through creative faith. Make your faith the overall creative faith God meant it to be. You shall do the greater works because the needs are greater now. Divine fire shall burn out dross. Let it take over and move through your heavenly house and consume any darkness. In psychiatric treatment, most practitioners just talk around the evil and darkness by calling them complexes and abberitions. Psychiatrists need to add in the life of God. They do magnificent work, but do not go high enough.
“I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron: And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the Lord, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel.”–Isaiah 45:2-3. This is your choice. Unless you call on your heavenly bodies, you do live in a dark place. “Touch us, O God, and make us potent and powerful in Thy Light.”
Your Mount of Transfiguration
Edna Lister outline, October 30, 1966, Cleveland, OH, Matthew 17:1-9, Luke 9:27-32
“After six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, and was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid. And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid. And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only. And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead.”–Matthew 17:1-9.
“But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God. And it came to pass about eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray. And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering. And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias: Who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem. But Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep: and when they were awake, they saw his glory, and the two men that stood with him.”–Luke 9:27-32.
The Transfiguration is one of the most beautiful stories about Jesus. It is as nearly perfect as anything can be. In the preceding chapter, Jesus had revealed his coming death by crucifixion and his resurrection to them. Peter, always the impulsive one, startled them all by rebuking Jesus, exclaiming, “You cannot do this!” Jesus answered by saying, “Get thee behind me, Satan!” because Peter’s exclamation was a challenge, a temptation.
Then came the famous call to action: “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.”–Matthew 16:24-28.
You do follow him. Tie up all your problems and trouble in one big bundle as you start your climb. The first fellow who calls you names or criticizes you, cuts a hole in your bag and the troubles fall out to roll downhill. You waste so much time picking it all up to start again before you learn how to lift it all onto a cloud continent of Light. Jesus was questioned often by those of the established order, whom he threatened. They scorned and reviled him, yet he walked though their midst serenely. He infuriated Judas in front of his Zealot friends.
Then Jesus took Peter, James and John to a high mount, and opened their eye to see spiritually. Only love can do this. You must combine the two versions in Matthew and Luke to make a whole story. Jesus’ face shone as the sun, and his clothing was white as glistering light. This was the Transfiguration. To transfigure means “to change the form or appearance of, to exalt, glorify, illumine in appearance or character, to idealize.” Transfigure is close in meaning to transform and transmute.
How do you reach your own Mount of Transfiguration? Each must work out the way himself. Gather all the statements of truth that Jesus made, to find the way. For example—“Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”–Matthew 6:33. “I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.”–John 12:32. “The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.”–Matthew 6:22. “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.”–Matthew 5:11.
“Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”–Matthew 16:24. Ministers do not want to teach taking up the cross anymore. They seek to make it easy for people to follow Christ. No one wants to wear a martyr’s crown. Yet a bland, non-challenging Christianity leaves you with no goal to which you may aspire. You need a goal.
Transfiguration is so simple—Light converted to solid, solid to Light. Yet, how do you remain in the Light? You cannot take a question as to “why” into the silence, because the question itself fills the space in your consciousness and leaves no room to receive an answer. “And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.”–Isaiah 65:24. Praise God and wait for the answer there. You cannot afford to be a big game hunter either, seeking only the biggest targets. Everyone is a genius at something. Some are expert job holders, while others are geniuses at giving up and always hunting another job. Some experts specialize in poverty and disease.
If you choose the shadows to love, you find yourself living by the less and less plan of life. This is the difference between “taking it on the chin” and lifting it to a cloud continent of Light and conquering it. You reach your Mount of Transfiguration by soul conquering of the self. The worldly-focused mind is always needing reassurance, which is why Jesus said, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.”–John 14:9. Even an infant looks into its mother’s eyes and sees the love. Jesus had to awaken Peter, James and John so they could see Moses and Elias with Jesus while they were in a waking state. Their testimony served as proof after the Master was crucified, resurrected and ascended. They show us three ways not to do it, while Jesus shows us the one way to do it right.
Have you waited forever for your ship o’ dreams? Well, think. Did you ever send one out? Did it have a captain? Faith must be the captain of your ship, and the strength of your love of God holds the rudder. What was your cargo? Was it over-weighted with darkness and troubles, or loaded with good? Your cargo includes all your broadcasts, griping and complaining or lifting, praise and singing. How can it return if you overloaded it with complaints and it sinks? Send a tracer after it. Write a letter to God, “Thank you for refilling my lost order, Father”—and mail it with a match! Start building a new, larger ship. Load your dockside warehouse with gifts for the whole world. This will be your way of Transfiguration, changing your life yourself.
The same Power that took Jesus to the Mount of Transfiguration also took him to the Cross, to the Resurrection and the Ascension. That same Power runs the universe, and is all the beauty, too—yours to call on. If anything in your life seems impossible, now is the time to declare that God, who is all the Power in the universe, is working a miracle to open the way! Then thank God and write another thank-you letter for it. See the miracle, hug it and hold it until it comes. This is Good! Let there be Light!
Your Mount of Transfiguration
Edna Lister transcript, Elizabeth Barnes, Ruth Johnson, Irene White, scribes, October 30, 1966, Cleveland, OH, Matthew 17:1-9, Luke 9:27-32
“And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, and was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid. And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid. And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only. And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead.”–Matthew 17:1-9.
“But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God. And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray. And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering. And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias: Who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem. But Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep: and when they were awake, they saw his glory, and the two men that stood with him.”–Luke 9:27-32.
No real contradiction exists among the Transfiguration stories in the Gospels. They are four different windows through which we may look back and view the records. In Matthew 16, Jesus informed the disciples of his death, resurrection and ascension, and they were in shock. Peter rebuked Jesus, “Be it far from you, lord this shall not be to you!” He said to Peter, “Get behind me Satan! You are an offense to me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.” Peter’s words were a challenge and temptation. He wasn’t ready to make the sacrifice of losing Jesus. He also tempted Jesus. This is your pattern of initiation. You must follow the words of the Father, which is a challenge to see how strong you are in forgiveness, sacrifice and surrender. “Take up your cross and follow me.” Ministers are afraid they will lose people if they tell them to take up their crosses, because whoever would prod you could cause you to drop it. Nothing about bearing the cross is easy.
Jesus had taught his disciples about levitation, walking on water, transfiguration and the mysteries. Only Peter, James and John really believed, and asked to see the Transfiguration, so he took them to the mount. Transfiguration means “to change outer form, to glorify”; its synonym is transformation. Jesus had to take Peter, James and John where nothing could touch them, to get them above the distraction and confusion of the affairs of daily living.
When the cross-vibrations closed out, Light transfigured him before them, and his face shown like the sun. His raiment was white as the Light, which descended through and flowed from him. After the disciples watched, they suggested building tabernacles of stones. Then, from a bright cloud, the voice of God said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear him!” Jesus explained why they could not build the three tabernacles.
As they spoke, Moses and Elias disappeared, and the thin veil of heaven was closed. Peter, James and John were the best witnesses that Jesus had, despite their mistakes. He needed them as leaders after him. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.”–John 14:12. It becomes a soul compulsion to do these greater works, but not through force.
Transfiguration is ascending and descending in Light. The time will come when people will forget their glasses and crutches. Put your thousand troubles on a cloud continent of Light. Declare, “As air mingles with air, as water mingles with water, as oil mingles with oil, so does my life mingle with the Life of God.” Thus, invisible substance mingles with itself. If you burn a finger, raise your hand and declare, “Spirit cannot be touched.” You will have a miracle.
How do you reach the Mount of Transfiguration? Declare, “Let there be Light! I, if I am lifted up, shall lift all with me. This is good!” etc. Work out the words for yourself. Hold fast and make such declarations so that you are deaf to the world’s lies. To be transfigured, remember two things—first, you can’t take questioning why into the golden silence or your aura is too full of whys with no room for illumination. Second, you cannot be a big game hunter, or a dark cloud chaser and ever get anywhere. Dark cloud chasers gravitate to all the negative news, rumors of illness, gossip, etc. Life’s big game hunters are always hunting a new job. They don’t really want to work, but just to hunt for work. You cannot be a hunter and work simultaneously.
You will never make it if being pushed into heaven is your goal. Your genius is to stand as the Light, in the Light and of the Light always. Every dream, light or heavy, is brought to pass. Some of them may have soured by the time they arrive. You may not want what you demanded after you get it. Some pass over, approach Councils and find they must build a new body and incarnate to receive the gift they demanded of God.
People say, “I’ll do that when my ship comes in.” When did you send your ship out? What cargo did you load it with? Some disown their cargo if they have filled it with the wrong goods. It depends what you send out first. Perhaps you could build a new ship, select a better cargo. Select a captain of faith for your ship. Load your ship by broadcasting “Let there be Light!”
If a package does not reach you, write God’s post office about it, strike a match in lieu of mailing it to burn any reason for delay. Write God a letter of gratitude for everything that comes to you. “Only my own can come to me. If this one is mine, please send me its twin.” Put these letters under your pillow.
Meet life’s challenges and temptations with praise and rejoicing that God has chosen you for conquering. Don’t be proud of taking it on the chin, but grab the challenge before it strikes and put it on a cloud of Light. Be alive and alert to what is incoming.
Today, God is giving you a new part of Oversoul. If you become transfigured, you can hold more Oversoul, see more, hear more. Jesus gave this power to his disciples. The Power makes it possible for Jesus and Melchizedek to walk the earth today. God cannot be far off if He knows when a hair falls from your head.
Is something in your life “impossible” to deal with? Wind it like yarn into a ball of Light, and give it to God. Give Him the hardest task to perform; thank Him and wait upon the Lord. Keep working on the outer, acting as if you already have it. You still cannot see yourself in a place great enough to match what God has in store for you. NOne of us can praise God enough.
The good is far more ready to fall into your lap now than in Jesus’ time, like the camel transportation of his day in comparison to jets. You will see and hear spiritually as never before. Transfiguration shall change the contour of your whole body and life until your Oversoul can penetrate the outermost sheath and manifest the beauty of God. You shall shine like the stars that you are.
Your Divine Inheritance
Edna Lister outline, November 6, 1966, Cleveland, OH, Ephesians 1
“Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: that in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: that we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory. Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: and hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.”–Ephesians 1.
What is your inheritance, and how do you find it? This first chapter of the Letter to Ephesians holds the new Christed orders for moving out of and up from the world. Right now, the world is cursing and challenging the old ways. The blighted man-made god is dead. Man created a god in his own image and likeness, and it is falling. All false gods are being torn down. Old things pass away. Man has burst the cocoon of old worn out ideas. The keynote of this space age of the air, of mental renewal, is a call to Christing, a challenge to be Godlike now.
The world challenge is whether to use everything for the self or for God. Man’s history of misusing the creative fire foolishly has embroiled him in a mess of misuse. The challenge of this age is to live in the Christed way, to be used by God’s Mind, Substance, and Power. As the past Piscean Age confusion dies, all the hidden secrets surface. In the age of air, ruled by Uranus, the planet that unveils and reveals all secrets, every hidden thing must show itself.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.”–Ephesians 1:4-6.
God has chosen you. As descended creators, you all started out blameless and holy. The Father has given you free will to choose your course in life. First, God has predestined you to return to Him. To predestine is “to appoint or ordain beforehand by divine decree.” You have no place else to go but home to God. The nonbeliever’s epitaph may as well read, “Here lies an atheist, all dressed up with no place to go.” God has predestined you to return through adoption by Jesus the Christ. This speaks of the Son, Jesus, the personification of the Christ principle.
This chapter of Ephesians holds and unfolds the greatest mysteries so ambiguously that the most evil searchers after power to misuse get tangled in the words, and quit in disgust. This text explains what your inheritance is and how to inherit it. Whether you travel by the line of fate or the Path of Destiny, you must eventually go home to God under His divine decree.
Second, in Christ, you have redemption through his blood. To redeem means “to regain possession of by repurchase, to rescue or deliver, as from bondage, by paying a ransom, to make amends for, to atone for, to fulfill, as a promise, and to rescue and deliver from the bondage of sin and the penalties of God’s violated law.”
Third, God has “purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ.”–Ephesians 1:9-10. To the world, dispensation means “the distribution of good and evil by God to man, a system of principles, promises and rules ordained and administered.” Thus, your destiny is under divine management. Under redemption, you practice forgiveness, which is to give Light in exchange for everything given to you, your inheritance. Wash your pages in the Book of Life white as snow, daily. Under dispensation, you gather together your life sparks of misused soul substance to claim your inheritance. Accept it as “sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.”
God has made you in His image and likeness: “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: and hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church.”–Ephesians 1:17-22.
Destiny requires that you take three steps to find, to accept and to conquer. To this end, God has given you all Power, Substance and life. He has given you the creative tools of desire, thinking, and imagination. Desire holds the balance of power. Desire is the origination of all inner conflicts, and holds the final vote. This text tells you again where your inheritance is, and what it is. So, your question now is how to claim your inheritance. Conflict expresses itself in dark colors. “I can’t” is black. “I am weak” is gray. “I’m trying” is an ugly earthy brown. The “Holy Spirit of promise” is “the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession.” The promises God has made have been sealed and must be fulfilled unto you, if you stand in truth and Light.
Say with me, “I AM invincible!” Today’s beauty is tomorrow’s glory. When the world tells me all is dark, I tell me all is Light. I am a powerhouse of God’s Power. Truth is a quality of soul. I am predestined to conquer as Light, to redeem my time, to redistribute my love, to dispense my compassion.
Your Divine Inheritance
Edna Lister transcript, Elizabeth Barnes, Ruth Johnson, Irene White, scribes, November 6, 1966, Cleveland, OH, Ephesians 1
“Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: that in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: in whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: that we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory. Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.”–Ephesians 1.
The world is in the throes of vast change. The old order has passed away, and the majority are spread on a continuum between hope of the new, and fear of change. Some have created false gods in their own image and likeness, from stone idols to images of a god like a man. It would be fitting if those who cry, “God is dead,” had to incarnate again to shatter the graven images they have created. Other similar illusions are and will be shattered. A great revolution is happening under the surface. The masses are bursting the cocoon of their slavery. They have lived like creatures, but are gleaning the wisdom that the creative fire is theirs to use. God did not create you to misuse creative fire. Divine Mind uses the creative fire as desires, thinking and imagination. You can imagine and think. However, desire controls these faculties unless soul moves in and controls the creative fire.
The first chapter in the Letter to Ephesians holds three great concepts—predestination, redemption and dispensation. To predestine is “to foretell and determine a divine decree or intent foreordained to either destiny or fate.” Redemption is “to redeem, buy back or retrieve.” Dispensation iss “good management, distribution, official consent, to compensate.” This chapter is full of the meat of the mysteries. It sounds as if an attorney wrote it: You have an inheritance, what the inheritance is, to whom it is given, and from whom and where it comes. The most evil-minded person of earth could become so confused by the legal terms that he would quit.
“Just as He chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,” means God had begotten the Elect before form or manifestation. Thus, this is a verse of your complete identity with God. “Having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will” reveals how you can go home to your Source by accepting that God begot you as His.
The Christ must adopt you, and there are certain requirements for adoption. Praise is the keynote of your acceptance for adoption: “To the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.” You must follow the Master’s teachings to be redeemed by his blood. Yellow symbolizes Wisdom, Love is blue, and red represents the Son of Energy. You cannot be redeemed without red hot action as energy, his “red blood.” God gave you free will to choose how you are going to use your inheritance. He prudently gave you choice, so if you destroy yourselves, first you must choose to.
“In [Christ] we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him.”–Ephesians 1:7-10. These verses say that God is omnipresent, which means that He is everywhere evenly present. God is omniscient, the Mind that directs and controls, and omnipotent, which means that He is all powerful. Thus, I know that everything is Light, and all Power takes me home.
“In [Christ] also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will.”–Ephesians 1:11. In this chapter, “Christ” is symbolic of principle, in which you have obtained an inheritance. You trust in Christ, the Word of Truth, and are sealed with the Holy Spirit in earnest of the promise. The “earnest money” is a down payment on your inheritance. Every promise made shall be kept until redemption, which is the purchased ticket to go home. What is your belief in your purchase price? It is as great as your belief in what is to come in glory. What price do you put upon this possession you purchased? You make a down payment when you become an ambassador of Light.
You are predestined according to God’s purpose; He has given every soul a fate line that saves them from sliding down the greased pole. You can always slip down to your fate line into your pouting place, the complaint department about God’s management. However, you may not straddle the fate line and path of destiny with one foot on each. God blocks your path of destiny until you really step onto it by cleansing taints of the subconscious mind. After passing from an earth life, you review the soul records on your silver cord. To weave the records into your path of destiny, you must cleanse the taints from your soul. To predestine is to ascend to the Path of Destiny. Whatever you have woven into your fate line usually determines the cause and your time of passing over. God’s block has made it impossible for you to fail.
“That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him.”–Ephesians 1:10. The fullness of time is the time it takes to bring all souls home. There is no place else to go but to the heart of God. Plan for your destiny and redeem or buy back lost or wasted time by cleaning up the soul taints. When the world says everything is dark, God says everything is Light. To declare, “All Power takes me home,” is your inheritance. “Earnest money” is a down payment signifying that you are morally responsible for fulfilling your end of a contract. Ascend into Light, letting it flow through to redeem you, so you may purchase your ticket home. Every promise made by the saints, and prophets will be the purchase price. Put your faith into redeeming of time and dispense love in new way.
“That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power.”–Ephesians 1:17-19.
Do you truly believe that God knows what He is doing? Witness or take stock of yourself. You need a deep-seated conviction. Where are the ministers who will stand up and call Neitzche's “God is dead” atheists liars? They should shout from the housetops that God is alive! Some help to tear down false gods, the false images of man-created gods that they created in past. In the watery Piscean Age, the power brokers of religion and politics hid everything. Now, as we enter the Aquarian Age of air, Uranus is tearing down the old to rebuild anew. This makes your enemies your footstool under God’s management plan. Behind the scenes, God is causing His enemies to destroy what they created so that old forms will disintegrate so the Elect can build the new that is of God. Those who love God are now becoming sure that He lives! The old image of a false god, created by man, has been shattered, but that does not touch the God who begat us. You find, you accept, you use, you believe. Let Power use you!
“We were begotten in him before the foundation.” Your identity with God as the Source of all being is the first part of your inheritance. You need to be adopted because you wandered far away. You must believe God’s management is honorable and right. “Trying” is the curse of the world, but God has been trying to bring enough of His Elect together to express perfection. Even nature is waiting for the bulb to burst so He can lead them back. Today’s beauty gives you tomorrow’s glory of soul. Follow your path of destiny to be enfolded in the Light. God wants all His sons and daughters saved, so when you declare, “This is good! Let there be Light!” every Power of the universe moves to bring that perfection to pass. Redeem yourself from the worldly idea that God created you to use the Power. He is gathering in all soulswhich could not happen until the false image of a man-created God was shattered. Now we have The One God, and the Elect have accepted His inheritance and promises.
Your Faith and Compassion
Edna Lister outline, November 13, 1966, Cleveland, OH, Ephesians 6:10-20
“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; and for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”–Ephesians 6:10-20.
You put on the whole armor of God in six steps: Gird your loins with truth, put on the breastplate of righteousness, shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace, take up the shield of faith, put on the helmet of salvation, and hold the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. The difficulty in past ages and most of all today is evangelism that has sought to reduce God to a size that fits within the limits of man’s comprehension. They talk about faith, but have no idea what it is.
Evangelism is a neutral word meaning “the preaching of the gospel, a message of joy; missionary zeal, purpose, or activity.” The evangelists’ failure lies in their inability to explain what causes the joy of believing in faith. A gospel message must begin at the Source, which is God, who is greater than His entire expanding universe. The old Biblical concept of God has been lost and destroyed. The greatest thing about this concept is its idea of full sovereignty. What does modern man know about loyalty to a sovereign King?
Today, man has been “personalized” in his views and attitudes toward living. He has completely lost the objective dimension of ultimate reality. [Edna Lister is describing secular humanism before the so-called intellectual elite named it.] Television, movies and stories have developed a defense mechanism within man that is so strong that he fights loyalty to anything. He marries without a care because he can easily break his vows if he so chooses. Modern man has little or no faith in anything. Yet you can have no loyalty without faith in the object of your loyalty.
Our ancestors had faith in God and king. Even a savage has faith in his fetish, which may be only a stone with a hank of hair. Today, so called “independent” man is regressing to loyalty to his senses and “things,” such as clothing, houses and cars, to drugs such as LSD, marijuana, heroin and alcohol. {Note that cocaine and the myriad designer drugs were not even included in 1966!} Faith in God as your sovereign means admitting dependence on a Power, a Source greater than self. Jesus pictured God as a loving Father of all good. Children, whose parents have given them no identity with God as their Source, have no Father God. Thus, they flout the rule of their father in the home.
What are you to do? If you have faith, make your life a message of the one God, all powerful, a God whose laws work. You may not give permissive consent to the blasphemous doctrine of “no God” by remaining silent. Instead, stand for truth in the Light as an evangelist of the Light. Do you believe that God above knows what He is doing? Faith is loving God enough is to trust Him, and to stand on truth and know that He rules.
“Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”–Ephesians 6:13-17.
Do you love God enough to stand for Him steadfastly? Having your loins girt with truth means protecting the abdominal area, symbolically the Land of Egypt. Close out worldly vibrations; permit them no entry to your mind. For example, if you hear a lie and let it live in your consciousness, it fastens a line to your mental sanctuary. When you repudiate a lie, you release the Light to absorb it. When you have a premonition, build an overpass above it and turn it into a miracle.
Wearing the breastplate of righteousness protects the body’s trunk, the stomach, heart and lungs, which lie within the Land of Promise. Right protection means a state of righteousness, the right application or use of law in your personal life. You must give $10 worth of effort to an $8 an hour job, or you cannot expect a miracle. If you give $5 worth of work for a $7 an hour wage, you can expect only a flop.
The feet represent understanding. Having your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace means having more than faith, understanding, joy or poise. You have no complete protection or identity with God unless the Light descends all the way to your feet. “Let there be Light!” puts on the preparation of peace, and you leave peace-filled footprints behind you. Anyone who steps into the same place will have healing and the answers to their prayers.
The shield of faith forms as the Light descends to your feet and draws the magnetic currents of earth up, protecting your body from shoulders to knees. This shield of Light moves from side to side as you move. It protects the Promised Land, the heart, lungs and stomach. If you feel ill, raise your shield.
The helmet of salvation is also made of Light and protects you from outside vibrations such as mental cacophony and hypnotic suggestions, like those in TV and radio advertising. Your helmet of Light protects your Garden of Eden, your head. The helmet protects what we call the three windows of the soul. Faith rides the Light down to you, as a quality of soul, bounded by love on one side and joy on the other. Thus, you may choose to see the world through the lenses of love, faith, and joy.
Love, faith and joy are three keys to the full kingdom of heaven. Faith is a straight key that fits the middle window that admits pure Light. No other key fits the lock of faith. Be straight, stand straight and face straight to find the straight way to ascend.
“And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”–Ephesians 6:19-20. The “sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,” is the Voice, speaking words of Light. Speak boldly, but not aggressively, using loving, kind and compassionate words.
How great is your faith? How broad, long, deep and high? Your words show the greatness of your faith, love and joy. Jesus the Christ is your bondsman. How great is your protector’s love and joy? Is yours that great, as well? Declare, “I am an ambassador in bonds of faith, love and joy, acting now as compassion.”
Your Faith and Compassion
Edna Lister transcript, Elizabeth Barnes, Ruth Johnson, Irene White, November 13, 1966, Cleveland, OH. Ephesians 6:10-20
“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; and for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”–Ephesians 6:10-20.
The evangelists and teachers of the Gospels, who degrade the idea of God and bring it down to fit the intelligence of common people, have caused difficulty through all ages. This has broken out more virulently now than in past. From Abraham on down, men have conceived that God is greater than all His creations. Although conscious evolution was beginning, human consciousness could not yet grasp principle; humanity still needed an idea of a God with personality.
They taught a sovereign God, and pictured a God like themselves. They took the first step down when they degraded God to the level of a man. Osiris and Isis brought the universality of God that degenerated into animals as gods. Zoroaster brought eternal Light that degenerated into fire and sun worship. Man has always degraded the original idea given.
Jesus came and taught principle as faith and loyalty. He preached a God unlike man, but he brought it down to personality with the “Father” idea to make them understand. The same groups who had originally demoted God reincarnated and degraded the Father idea of God and even their own fathers on earth. You need faith in a God who is greater than all Creation, and to have faith you must be loyal to God. Man has little faith nowadays and less loyalty.
Evangelists preach a message of joy, and teach of a God in whom you may have faith and to whom you may be loyal. Their message arouses what they term “joy.” The best of them are leading people back to God’s sovereignty and to giving their faith and loyalty to Him. Less appealing are those who forcefully proselytize using condemnation and fear. The proselytized man on the street repudiates the idea of bending the knee to God. Greater humility is needed. The great tragedy of the world is disobedience to law, which is principle.
I want a Father, one to whom I can go as a person. You could not know this out here so far from heaven if it wasn’t like this at the Source. Thinking of God only as personality is imbalanced; you also need God as principle.
“We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”–Ephesians 6:12. To withstand evil is to be withdrawn from and untouched by evil. “Having done all, to stand,” includes standing on principle at home and in the office. When you quietly stand without looking smug, you frustrate your enemies.
“Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness.”–Ephesians 6:13-14. The loins represent the land of Egypt (the abdomen), which contains the liver, spleen and colon. The liver represents sincerity, with which you protect truth. The spleen represents loyalty; the large intestine and colon represent pride. Be sincere, loyal to God and have pride in your standing, but if pride eats you up, it brings colitis. Protect the land of Egypt from world vibrations and opinions. You can, for example, fear a medical diagnosis so much that you cause physical difficulties to grow.
The breastplate of righteousness gives you the means to live by right use of law, day by day, up to your highest vision. It has twelve stones whose colors represent healing for endocrine glands and nerve plexus centers in the body. When you are in Light, the breastplate emits twelve rays of repulsion from the white Light of Christ to keep evil from you. These rays can offend those who are not conscious of taints. They see the taints in others, but the breastplate’s rays show them their guilt. The rays from the breastplate reveal the dangers on the path before you. Most people go through life with a dull breastplate that does not protect the Promised Land, which includes the stomach, heart and lungs.
“Having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace.”–Ephesians 6:15. Peace is a preparation, a combination. You cannot have peace without faith in God and loyalty to all power, love, compassion and joy. The feet symbolize understanding, which can come only when you coat them with this preparation. When you have shod yourself with the preparation of peace, salvation grows where you have walked. When another treads in your footsteps, he can have his miracle of healing, he receives the answer to prayer, and his problem is solved.
The whole armor of God is your protection. The credit for healing in the Book of Life goes to the one who had an open contact with God. “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.”–Ephesians 6:16. The shield of faith is God in action. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”–Hebrews 11:1. Faith is a combination of love, wisdom, and joy. When your faith is engaged, its current completes the circuit and causes an explosion of Light. Wear the shield on your left arm, and swing it from side to side, to protect yourself.
“And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”–Ephesians 6:17. The helmet of salvation is pure Light, sometimes in the form of an aura, a covering. It signifies sovereignty and the kingdom that you rule. It is the crown lotus, the thousand-petaled lotus at the ends of the cranial nerves, which protects the golden bowl. You earn the helmet by making a thousand days of burnt offerings. Only the power of the living God and the vibration of faith can enter the helmet of salvation.
The sword of spirit is the Word of God. The tongue is a two-edged sword that you wield through your voice (“It cut me like a knife when she said that”), which is why you may permit no idle words! Words release the vibration of God. The tone of your voice is important also. Your tone can offend, even while your words flatter. Tone is more offensive than words because it comes from the subconscious and vibrates according to your real attitude.
“Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; and for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”–Ephesians 6:18-20. Saints need your prayers more than evil people do. You can do nothing about a saint, since he already knows he is perfect, but you can affect the evil ones who have such a weight of sin that must be lifted before they can arise and return to the Light.
Jesus paid your bond and that of all mankind when he said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. Use my name.” As an ambassador, you are in bonds under the principles of faith, loyalty, integrity, love, and joy. Thus, the twelve rays of Christ Light shining through the breastplate become rays of repulsion toward evil. Stand with great faith to start the lights, and be alert about whether they will touch the other fellow saying, “Let there be Light!” which is your sword of Spirit.
The person may blow up at first, but he will arise above time and space into the highest Light. He may be speechless, or make excuses for you. Yet living in love of God, you are expressing it as compassion. Again, use only the words of the sword of Spirit, “Let there be Light!”
Wear the armor of God as part of you. It is always part of your soul’s electronic fire body, even when you are dull. Stand and declare that all those who are of Light choose to keep it shining and bright. Move from the “waiting room” of “I’m waiting for a miracle” into the delivery room of “I have it now!”
Stand in the Light of righteousness and build bridges over errors, lies, gossip, and predictions of disaster. Whatever is out there, lights flash and it disappears. “Let there be Light!” is the answer in every situation.
God’s Measuring Rod
Edna Lister outline, November 20, 1966, Cleveland, OH, 2 Corinthians 10:5-15, Ephesians 3:13-19
“Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; and having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled. Do ye look on things after the outward appearance? if any man trust to himself that he is Christ’s, let him of himself think this again, that, as he is Christ’s, even so are we Christ’s. For though I should boast somewhat more of our authority, which the Lord hath given us for edification, and not for your destruction, I should not be ashamed: that I may not seem as if I would terrify you by letters. For his letters, say they, are weighty and powerful; but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible. Let such an one think this, that, such as we are in word by letters when we are absent, such will we be also in deed when we are present. For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise. But we will not boast of things without our measure, but according to the measure of the rule which God hath distributed to us, a measure to reach even unto you. For we stretch not ourselves beyond our measure, as though we reached not unto you: for we are come as far as to you also in preaching the gospel of Christ: not boasting of things without our measure, that is, of other men’s labours; but having hope, when your faith is increased, that we shall be enlarged by you according to our rule abundantly.”–2 Corinthians 10:5-15.
“Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory. For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.”–Ephesians 3:13-19.
You use a measuring rod to measure an extent, dimension or capacity. The life of Jesus Christ is your measuring rod of right conduct. The stature of the Christ is his capacity to love God, the Father, and to have loving compassion for all men. Never compare yourself with any man. The world is always a challenge, so I never compare myself with the people or things in it, only with Jesus Christ. How often must I measure myself with Christ? Often enough to hold an even and balanced God-consciousness.
What is the extent of Jesus Christ’s influence? Within 2,000 years, he was known the world over. His dimension is as high as heaven and as low as the earth. His capacity is limitless—all-encompassing, all-enfolding, all-enduring and everlasting. Man’s measuring rod is fame, wealth and earthly power. The extent in the worldly dimension is bounded by the amount of wealth (millions and possessions) and the capacity for health and how long it will last.
“For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.”–2 Corinthians 10:12. Never compare yourself with those who commend themselves or measure themselves by themselves. Never boast beyond your measure. Yet you never use the words, “I can’t” or “Not me,” but stand firmly, unwavering.
You are as perfect now in watchfulness, obedience, and alertness as your desire to be. The Christed stature is your ensample. To think on it is pervasive, penetrating and permeating. Your whole being is then filled with the rapture of love. Your capacity increases, and your measure of devotion and strength grows. I look straight ahead, not right, not left, but into the face of God.
The measure of my love equals its breadth, length, depth and height. These four dimensions form your way of “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.”–2 Corinthians 10:5.
Meet life’s challenges with the full love of the Christ. “This is good. Let there be Light.” Thus, your devotion, strength, love and compassion are great enough to change any situation, any failure, any lesser thing into a miracle of God’s glory. Declare, “The Christ stature is my measuring rod for life.”
God’s Measuring Rod
Edna Lister transcript, Elizabeth Barnes, Ruth Johnson, Irene White, scribes, November 20, 1966, Cleveland, OH, 2 Corinthians 10:5-15, Ephesians 3:13-19
“Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; and having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled. Do ye look on things after the outward appearance? If any man trust to himself that he is Christ’s, let him of himself think this again, that, as he is Christ’s, even so are we Christ’s. For though I should boast somewhat more of our authority, which the Lord hath given us for edification, and not for your destruction, I should not be ashamed: That I may not seem as if I would terrify you by letters. For his letters, say they, are weighty and powerful; but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible. Let such an one think this, that, such as we are in word by letters when we are absent, such will we be also in deed when we are present. For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise. But we will not boast of things without our measure, but according to the measure of the rule which God hath distributed to us, a measure to reach even unto you. For we stretch not ourselves beyond our measure, as though we reached not unto you: for we are come as far as to you also in preaching the gospel of Christ: Not boasting of things without our measure, that is, of other men’s labours; but having hope, when your faith is increased, that we shall be enlarged by you according to our rule abundantly.”–2 Corinthians 10:5-15.
“Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory. For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.”–Ephesians 3:13-19.
The second Letter to the Corinthians, the fifth chapter, is a call to obedience. Do you look at and judge by the outer appearance? Measure yourself with the measuring rod that God gave you. Paul explains his reasons for using his authority to the Corinthians, who had criticized him for being too bold when he wrote, and for being too weak in person. He had to placate the seven churches, each of which had its own opinions and prejudices.
This chapter illustrates several phases of man’s self-made measuring rod. The life of Jesus the Christ is your one measure for growth, which is based on the foundation principle of love. “For God so loved the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son” also means “for Jesus so loved the world that he wanted to make the sacrifice.” The dictionary definition of “measure” is quite metaphysical, referring to dimensions, quantity, or capacity as ascertained by comparison with a standard, an evaluation or a basis of comparison. Measure also refers to “a standard or rule of judgment.”
How far did Jesus’ teachings extend? They know Jesus’ name all over earth. It has spread for 2,000 years to cover the world. Six other world teachers have come, but Jesus is the head. What is the dimension of his teaching? How do you measure the dimension of love? You cannot, for love is limitless, not only in availability but in what it does.
Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory. For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.”–Ephesians 3:13-19.
The capacity of the love and stature of Christ is all embracing, all enduring, all sacrificing. What are the extent, dimension and capacity of your love? Most people use a worldly measuring rod to keep up with the Joneses. “Am I famous? How do I dress? What kind of home do I have?” People measure self by what is around them, and use stumbling, limited man as their measuring rod.
They say, “He said it couldn’t be done,” using what happened at age twenty as an example of what you cannot do today. It makes just as much sense for a cowboy to drag a dead steer for life as for you to drag along your mistake from age twelve or twenty. Forget the past. Love today. Don’t use those past mistakes as measuring rods.
Paul must have often stumbled over his past as Saul of Tarsus. People must have questioned and criticized him about it. “For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.”–2 Corinthians 10:12.
Paul means you do not take on the comparisons and judgments that others make of you. “Measuring themselves by themselves”—it’s so convenient to measure according to the self when people hold high rank. Such idle questions as, “How can she do this to me?” illustrate “comparing themselves among themselves.”
Paul alluded to being a bishop when he said, “We will not boast of things without our measure, but according to the measure of the rule which God hath distributed to us, a measure to reach even unto you.” He reached out and included his people in the stature of Christ. “We stretch not ourselves beyond our measure” means Paul is not boasting. How are you supposed to measure yourself? “Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.”–Matthew 7:1-2.
“That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge.”–Ephesians 3:17-19. What are the breadth, depth and height of your love? All the words you speak are self-revealing. Do you include everyone, even the government, in your love? Is your love broad enough to admit that God’s Plan is perfect? When God’s man is not elected, look at the power-mongers of administration and say, “This is good! Let there be Light!”
Christ’s love is universal. He took in sinners, loved them and healed them. You can help the negative ones only through the substance of love. This is the law of love. Most people are not yet earning proper dividends on their speech, or the breadth of their love. You are a creator and can speak the Word. Everything returns its source eventually. Unless you say, “This is good!” what will you get in return? A curse carries away your soul substance with it. Where did the Mind and Power in your voice originate? Substance, Mind and Power have only one Source, so when you say, “This is good!” the curse becomes a blessing. Walk into a dark room. Turn on the Light to change it into Light.
What is the depth of your love? How long has your love lasted? How has it endured? Can anyone scratch beneath your surface? The height of my love is my glory. How high is high for you? How great is your imagination? When anyone can affect your ideal of love, you are a slave. When you say, “I love you,” you must mean it. How often do you measure yourself? It should be with every breath you draw. You always have the critics. Stand with your measuring rod, the stature of the Christ. Declare, “This is good! Let there be Light!
“Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.”–2 Corinthians 10:5. Our way to bring every thought into captivity is to say, “This is good! You are good and all you have ever said or done is Light.” You may speak from teeth out to start with, but love eventually permeates and consumes all darkness. The stature of Christ is of practical use today, and you use it to send forth only the love of God. Shout it inside, even in face of something black. You will find that you are so curious as to how God can work it together for good that you will finally make it a rule. When you see love work, you learn that God does know His business. His plan is growing up through man’s stupidities and shall overcome all darkness.
What do you feel is your share? If you make your declaration for good, then look around with doubt, you cut your lines of Light and must begin again. Stand on principle. Hold fast to God. Know the truth. Declare, “This is good!” and the seemingly impossible miracle happens because love is the substance of which everything is made, and it has the power to absorb. The Father releases the full of substance your Oversoul star the minute you make a request. Form a mold with consuming desire to see this manifest.
Declare, “I see Light from my star pouring down on this (or a shaft of Light if for another). Let there be Light. Let it be visible. Thank You, Father, for doing the work.” Preface your every declaration with “let” and Power moves in according to your knowing faith as a creator. You have everything. You will be sent to the right place by this extension of your love. God’s infinite dimension shall go forth increasing, and your capacity will increase a thousandfold an hour. Father, thank You for having given us Your measuring rod.
Follow Your Path of Destiny
Edna Lister outline, December 4, 1966, Cleveland, OH, Matthew 5:1-19
“And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”–Matthew 5:1-19.
Destiny is “the predetermined course of events, often conceived as a relentless power; one’s fortune, that which determines events, either supernatural or necessary.” Fate is “ordained by the gods, that determining cause or will, by which things in general are supposed to come to be as they are or events happen as they do.” Aimless selishness leads you to fate. I AM THAT I AM determines your destiny. Your first choice is recognizing your responsibility and that whatever you face, “this means me.” Your second choice is choosing destiny, which is God’s plan for you, now. When you choose destiny over fate, time and space become forever one, and miracles abound. Under fate, your time and space remain separated. You are forever waiting, missing the mark, and enduring delay.
“Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”–Matthew 5:19. This verse is a built-in measuring rod. By using it, you can always know if you are slipping, if you watch your step.
The Beatitudes are attitudes of your being in expression, what the world sees. They set a keynote for conduct, and are nine lessons in gentle manners. You live your destiny day by day. Your destiny is to live in a timeless, infinite inner world, untouched by the outer. Be immovable in your integrity, incapable of being conditioned by anything outside your own consciousness. Thus, you avoid slavery to the world of appearances.
When Jesus taught the Sermon on the Mount, he meant to cover everything that could enslave you or cause you to fall back into earth bondage. Jesus was a positive challenge to all negative darkness. The Beatitudes are among the lesser mysteries of life, nine ways to meet life as a challenge. They serve as a constant reminder that The Elect are sons and daughters of God, destined to be conquerors and creators.
So, you must be at it, forever remembering your measuring rod for conduct. If you shirk one aspect or detail, you slack on all your projects. If you break one law, you break them all. “I’ll do it tomorrow. Just this once is okay. Just once can’t matter.” Such attitudes ice the vibration, from the highest level to the lowest outermost point. The walls of your creative molds fade and thin to little or nothing. Going slack affects you, from earth to the Source, and is a greatly sinful choice. War is a monster composite vibration of the little sins of all the “good” people on earth.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”–Matthew 5:3. “In spirit” is a gloss, added later by copyists [redactors], and is not in the Greek text. In Aramaic, “poor” means having no possessions. Thus it means being poor in pride and possession of people and things, not to possess. The keynote is “I accept” the Christ consciousness as my destiny. This is your kingdom now!
“Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.”–Matthew 5:4. Those who mourn over self, in grief, blame and self-pity, end stagnant and crystallized. Mourning for self plays the same old recording, tells the same old story for years. The keynote of “Blessed are they that mourn” is “I surrender” self to become the servant of all Power, to ascend from the valley of tears into the sunlight. This redeems your wasted time and purifies the emotional residue of grief.
“Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.”–Matthew 5:5. Meekness means having an open mind and an open heart. When you listen, you never miss an opportunity. This beatitude falls under the principle of nonresistance, the greatest of all laws. Nonresistance does not mean being a doormat or a weak worm, but remaining dynamically poised. The keynote of “blessed are the meek” is “I give my full attention” completely, as though everyone has a gift to give me! Thus, you become a magnet for good, powerful, positively attractive.
“Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.”–Matthew 5:6. Righteousness is the right use of your highest soul vision, to be so consumed with desire for God’s righteousness that you push up like a lily bulb seeking light. Whenever you hear a “no,” know that it will turn to a “yes.” To hunger and thirst is to be filled with Power, your atoms bursting with life to be used as energy. The keynote of this beatitude is “I seek,” and as you seek, you give all that you have to be filled again.
“Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.”–Matthew 5:7. Since your only true freedom is to agree with God that this is good, and adjust to my fellow man, the law requires mercy of you. Being merciful means that you do not judge unrighteously or from the self’s point of view. You are simply becoming too gracious and too generous to be judgmental. See everything as good, and ignore the darkness. The keynote of this beatitude is “I forgive” myself first and all others seventy times seven.
“Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.”–Matthew 5:8. The pure in heart see good everywhere and in everyone, at all times. When you are pure in heart, you are also pure in mind and in purpose. The keynote of this beatitude is “I create.” Mind uses your creative tools of desire, thinking and imagination, and you use no idle words. You let the Creative Impulse fill your atoms with perfect life and vitality.
“Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.”–Matthew 5:9. Peacemakers are also pacesetters under the principle of nonresistance, setting the ascension pace for the world. When the peace of I AM consciousness is your soul expression, you stand immovable and untouchable, according to the I AM pattern. Your poise reaches up, Power descends, and peace and patience become their offspring. An explosion of illumination fills you and you are invincible. The keynote of this beatitude is responsibility, “I am responsible” for setting the pace of my own destiny. As I discharge my responsibility, I become a filled with a positive, poised peace, a working peace that goes out and accomplishes.
“Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”–Matthew 5:10. Jesus said, “It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come!”–Luke 17:1. People persecute others because they feel envy and jealousy. The Master plainly warns that this is inevitable. The keynote of this beatitude is choice. Has your kingdom improved? To assess this, stand off a few paces and look at yourself. What kind of person are you? Do you display entrenched habit patterns? Do you raise your eyebrows, or shrug your shoulders when persecuted, to show your contempt for it? Or do you lift it to a cloud continent of Light, declaring it good and ignoring it?
“Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.”–Matthew 5:11. When others treat you badly, do you act gladly, as though it is the frosting on your cake? You are the winner, despite all odds when you remain on your Mount of Transfiguration and rejoice. The Mount of Desire is just ahead, across a water meadow full of holes, ditches full of green water, and quicksand. Check your Christ consciousness, gear up and dare to live as a challenge to darkness. Declare, “I am ‘the light of the world,’ sent here to conquer.” Light is your destiny, not darkness! Let your Light so shine that you are a living ensample of Light, faith unconquerable and love unquenchable!
Follow Your Path of Destiny
Edna Lister transcript, Elizabeth Barnes, Ruth Johnson, Irene White, scribes, December 4, 1966, Cleveland, OH, Matthew 5:1-19
“Seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”–Matthew 5:1-19.
The dictionary defines destiny as the “inevitable or necessary end to which a particular person or thing is destined, one’s lot, a predetermined course of events considered as something beyond human power or control, that power or agency thought to predetermine supernatural events.” THAT is a hidden Name of God, as in I AM THAT I AM, which ties your personal destiny to the I AM consciousness of your Oversoul. The first definition of destiny here deals with the fate line. Fate is “what is ordained by the gods, that principle or determining cause or will, by which things in general are supposed to come to be as they are or events happen as they do.” Successive events determine the fate line, which is an inescapable doom. Yet you have choice in the matter. You may live by the fate line or ascend and step onto your path of destiny.
What is this destiny? Destiny greatly concerns your outcome in life as you express it. You live in the world where you wait for time and space to meet, which this is the source of all delay or heartache. You do it in the wrong way, at the wrong time under fate and the world. When you step onto the path of destiny, you move into Christed consciousness, where time and space are one, and you call it a miracle. Under fate, time and space never seem to meet for you; it’s just too late.
Jesus put everything you would need to help you conquer into the Sermon on Mount. He illustrated the difference between fate and destiny, and left the master plans for each to build his own bridge over the abyss between heaven and earth. The Beatitudes are your attitudes of expression before the world. People have good manners, a lack of manners, and bad manners. The beatitudes are lessons in the expression of gentle, good manners, and laws that you must accept. Your attitudes are the sums of what you show the world, what the world sees and believes you are. You impose your attitudes, your expression of Light on people. This attitude, the tip of an iceberg, is all that the world can see of you for the rest of what you are is invisible.
“Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”–Matthew 5:19. If you break one law, you break them all. I am standing here, out in time and space, breathing from the Source. If I break the law here, I miss the mark of the greatness of law. The size of the sin determines how widely I miss the mark. If I am just simmering, I don’t just delay for a few minutes. I must stand at a white point of heat to get a miracle. You delay everything when you simmer. Do not just simmer in prayer. Be at the degree of white heat.
When you have a miracle, then break law, you drop straight to bottom. You cannot let down one second on the law, or you cut yourself off from the Source. Always maintain your contact with the Light. Never say, “This is small. It doesn’t count. I can make that up.” It may take you a month to overcome one negative statement. Under metaphysics, you are accountable to obey every law. If you blame God that your miracle hasn’t come, you cut off Power to every department of your life, and spend most of your time making up for your idle words. The difficulty in climbing is that people often aren’t aware of when they sin. Matthew 5:19 is your measuring rod. If you indulge the little self once, you go down the greased pole in consciousness. When you lose place this way, you must do it all over again!
“Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”–Matthew 5:3. This law has put a premium on poverty. In Aramaic, ”poor” meant to not possess. “Poor in spirit” means possession of things and people. You become a slave to self if you try to possess people or things. This beatitude shows that all things are God’s to use, so do not squeeze or possess them. Say, “Thank You, Father, that You have loaned me this.” The kingdom of heaven is within here. If anything outside possesses you, you have no heaven. Holding the kingdom of heaven within, leads to smooth emotions and a smooth life. The keynote is “I accept all things as mine to use.”
“Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.”–Matthew 5:4. This beatitude does not refer to mourning the loss of possessions or for a loved one who has died. Do not mourn for yourself, because that leads to self-pity. Blessed is the one who leaves the shadows of self-pity for the Light on the Mount of Transfiguration. The keynote is “I surrender self.”
“Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.”–Matthew 5:5, expresses the most powerful law of nonresistance. True meekness operates only under the principle of nonresistance. Meek means having an open mind, an open heart. Give your full attention to everything that comes to you. Many refuse to listen when they should. The keynote is to pay attention to each person or experience, to lift them into the kingdom of heaven. Under meekness, you learn to approach each person as though he had a gift for you, and he does: Paying attention strengthens you to apply law, to integrate the experience and to lift it. Stand on your path of destiny while you listen.
“Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.”–Matthew 5:6. Righteousness is the application of your highest vision always, in all that you do. It opens your soul vision to see behind the visible, and you can apply what you know to what you are doing. Hunger is a consuming desire for the things of God, which opens seeing and hearing. Apply what you know to what you are doing. The keynote of the seeker is “I seek greater ways to be filled with life, Light, love and glory. I empty myself of negative self to make room for God.”
“Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.”–Matthew 5:7. The keynote is “I forgive,” but watch this because having to forgive means you have already blamed and charged the debt to another first. Your task is to be forgiving for God. God judges each soul for the degree of self in his performance, and totals his credits and adjusts the repayment schedule pro rata, making the amount due proportionate to his ability to pay. Be thankful that God doesn’t charge you the full amount for your debts in one lump sum! If you are merciful, you give mercy, meaning that you dare not judge. The keynote of forgiving is “I give love for whatever it is.”
“Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.”–Matthew 5:8. You must see God in everything and everyone. Say, “This is Good! Let there be Light! The world is Light!” Broadcast this until the world can hear it. You can unstop any negative person’s ears if you will broadcast the Love of God at a white point of heat. Fill and permeate their home, their office and car with Light, and they will fill themselves. Light absorbs darkness. The keynote is “I create brightness with Light.”
“Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.”–Matthew 5:9.> A peacemaker is a catalyst, who can enter a room and quell any quarreling with their mere presence and silent broadcasting of “Let there be Light!” in the middle of anger and curses. All is Light. God’s Power is adequate to any situation. It makes no difference whether it removes a wart or a violent mob. God’s Power goes forth according to the sight draft that you declare. God must have a mouthpiece who will stand until the world’s “no” becomes a “yes.”
If you obey one beatitude, you must obey the nine. As a peacemaker, you have the peaceful kingdom of heaven inside. When you ascend as poise, Power descends and an explosion of peace and patience takes place. Peace and patience are the combination of poise and Power in action. If you lift when poised, you become untouchable, immovable, able to be, to act out your destiny. The keynote of a peacemaker is to stand untouchable and being responsible for all around him.
“Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.”–Matthew 5:10-11.Rejoice when others misjudge, criticize or lie about you, because you are standing in Light. Those who stand in the dark cannot bear the Light or to see you happy. Look at them and say, “I love you, too.”
You are Light of the world. Your destiny is to be the Light with the right attitude toward the world. Become a little lighter; climb higher. Know that you are in that timeless, infinite place of glory and miracles. Your transforming statements must be great enough to raise you into the high place. Each goes as high as he can, according to his faith and steadfastness of knowing. The Elect are creator gods, and we walk earth. This is your chance to be eternal, infinite and divine. Your faith is unconquerable, with the Creative Impulse using you day and night, holding you above the quicksands of self. To never miss a detail, you must listen.
“Let your Light so shine before men that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”–Matthew 5:16. Let your witness for the Christ express this attitude before the world.
Always Wear Your Crown
Edna Lister outline, December 11, 1966, Cleveland, OH, 1 Peter 5:4, Revelation 2:10, James 1:19-25
“And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.”–1 Peter 5:4.
“Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast [some] of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.”–Revelation 2:10.
“Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.”–James 1:19-25.
Peter, in his first Letter, chapter 5, verse 4, mentions a crown of glory, and Revelation 2:10 mentions a crown of life. Both crowns represent personal responsibility. A crown is an outer symbol of royal birth. Wearing a crown of life symbolically means that you are filled with joyous scintillating shining life. To declare, “I am of royal birth,” does not necessarily mean outer or earthly royalty. Your royalty refers instead to that inner “something” that each soul is born with and brings forth—a deathless and abiding joy.
We believe in God as both personality and principle. We believe in heaven as both an inner consciousness of glory and as a place for which we are preparing ourselves. Preparing yourself, then finding it unneeded, is better than being unprepared and disqualified for lack of credits as a “passport.”
Heaven is a place you make for yourself here and now, and to which you ascend later. As Jesus promised, “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.”–John 14:2. Jesus, the Son, spoke of the Father often, but not of the Mother, until speaking to John from the cross: “Son, behold thy mother.” The hidden Mother gestates and nourishes your desires.
At the crown of your head you have two mental body lotus structures, the sixteen-petaled lotus, which every child is born with, and the thousand-petaled lotus which you open under initiation. The requirements include believing, seeking and accepting the truth that God is your Source of all life and expression.
Through searching, you learn. First you know, then you comprehend. This is how you gain the engrafted Word. This is the same Word that John describes—“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men.”–John 1:1-4.
The crown of life is the sixteen-petaled lotus with which you are born, but the crown of glory is the thousand-petaled lotus that you must open. Once you awaken the thousand-petaled lotus, the ecstasy and joy are so great than no one can take it from you.
The whole world is waiting to be convinced about God. Unfortunately, those who do accept seem to become unbalanced, too emotional and devotional for the pragmatic intellectual. A practical, plain way to find God does exist, and the Elect are now proving it. Man is moving up and out of the old worldly ideas into the realm of all Power. You can tune out the old channel and tune in the new station, receiving the broadcasts from God’s powerhouse. This way to God is as simple and easy as walking through a physical door. If you are enthralled with the sound of your own voice, you will never be “swift to hear.” If you are slow to speak, you will hear. Meekness counts to ten and hears the engrafted Word before speaking.
If you are quick to speak, the only words that touch you are grafted on from the outside. To be slow to speak assures that you will use no idle words. Then you will be a “doer,” for you will receive the engrafted Word from the inner. Look to the inner in everything you do: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.”–Matthew 6:33. When you look at your own image, patting yourself on the back, you forget your royal heavenly heritage. Your crown falls off and you lose the beauty of God’s Word engrafted from above.
Look unto the “perfect law of liberty,” which is, “I look into the Light now.” Daily, the angel with the flaming sword stands to bar the gate of some lost paradise. To look back is fatal—look up and into the Light. If you do look back, declare, “This is good. Let there be Light.” When you look back, your future rushes by so quickly that it becomes the past without your ever living the present. Ask yourself, “What is my prayer pattern?” Then declare, “This one thing I do now, I pay off my credit card charge account in God’s Bank and start fresh with a zero balance.”
The angel with a flaming sword, who guarded that old paradise so you could not backtrack, has become the guardian of your new paradise, where all is beautiful. The rapturous ecstasy of bird song delights your heart as you look into the face of liberty. You are filled with new engrafted words of glory. Your crown fits and never slips. No prowlers on parade can fault you. You are perfect and undefiled, unspotted by the world. Declare, “I ascend! I stand in the heart of the fire as unconquerable faith, unquenchable love and invincible joy!”
Always Wear Your Crown
Edna Lister transcript, Elizabeth Barnes, Ruth Johnson, Irene White, Ross Whitehead, scribes, December 11, 1966, Cleveland, OH, 1 Peter 5:4, Revelation 2:10, James 1:19-25
“And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.”–1 Peter 5:4.
“Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast [some] of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.”–Revelation 2:10.
“Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted Word, which is able to save your souls. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.”–James 1:19-25.
The whole world is waiting for someone to convince them about God. Ninety percent of atheists and agnostics’ repudiation is born of fact that they want someone to convince them, and no one provides proof of God. Yet logic and reason can prove God. Man made a god in his own image and likeness, has thrown it from its pedestal and smashed it. This is good, but many remain unconvinced.
We worship a God who is both personality and principle. Principle deals with underlying foundations, scientific relationships and philosophy. Personality deals with mysticism and the mysteries of the Father, Mother and Son. Religion has divided the world into two classes, those who worship personality and those who worship principle. Half the world worships God as a Person and metaphysics, and the other half worship scientific principles.
The minority of atheists and agnostics are also divided. The atheists say that you go no where and do nothing for man has no soul. To them, you do not count. The agnostics are unsure about everything. Of the believers, one class believes in a heaven you make here, and others believe heaven is a place you go. No one can deny they are in a place now. Heaven is a state of consciousness and a place. The difficulty is in reconciling what is visible with what is invisible. Half the world believes to see, and the other half has to see to believe.
To know you're wearing a crown, you must believe to see, then apply your belief in your life. A dot extended becomes a line, which becomes a plane. The dot, line and plane may not be visible, but they are reality behind every spatial form, and you can prove them. “When the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.”–1 Peter 5:4. “Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”–Revelation 2:10. What do these references to crowns mean? The atomic mental body has forty-four lotus centers. At the crown of your head is a sixteen-petaled lotus. Eight petals function the faculty of wisdom, and eight petals function as love.
A child comes into physical expression with the eight love petals open, but with the wisdom petals furled for first eight years. The ancients called the sixteen-petaled lotus the crown of life. As an adult, making a thousand burnt offerings of self, the thousand-petaled lotus opens, appearing as the halo that some painters see around the head. You live in a body of cells inside a body of molecules inside a body of atoms, and all are invisible except the cells. Every nerve that ascends the spine to the head ends in a phosphorescent tip that glows as the Light touches it. The thousand-petaled lotus is the crown of glory.
“Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.”–James 1:19-21. Meekness is the ability to have an open mind, to agree and adjust. The implanted Word is what John describes: “In the beginning was the Word, and the word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the Light of men.”–John 1:1-4.
Three of seven degrees of breath come through the sixteen-petaled lotus at the crown. Implanting is the imhalation of Light as life. The implanted Word is Light that will save your soul. The sixteen-petaled lotus is the crown of life, so the implanted Word means a crown of life. Take a deep breath, high enough to touch the Source with it. Assume your identity because you believe to see it. Accept with meekness that you have the life that saves your soul. When you touch the Word, you see your identity as a son or daughter of God. Life flows through the sixteen-petaled lotus and gives you the crown of life.
Peter’s formula for this is the crown of glory.
Every prophet has his formula, which is a process, an act of ascension of consciousness. Ascension must become an automatic act. Everyone has his own formula for living in all he does. Applying a formula is an automatic act. Work it out as you do diet and breathing. Order is heaven’s first law, even in housework. Make your own formula, but avoid being rigid about it. Grow above the formula into action. Like moving beyond addition on your fingers, you add or subtract what you need to ascend into Light. Close out mental waves and ascend into the Light. No amount of meditation or concentration can take you up into golden Light to become one with the Source. The implanted Word is a vibration of Light made into life for your physical body vitalizing, quickening your soul.
“Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes his way, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.”–James 1:22-24. Apply what you hear, not just to look at others but to look clearly at yourself and see what you have done wrong. The secret is to remember what you saw when you walk back into the world vibration, so do not descend from the Light. Live on three levels at once. Be alive and alert. When you clear the trash of self from your subconscious mind it can tell you where you left things, when to turn the lights off, etc., and clear up a fogged mind overnight. If you are so fond of your own voice, your own ideas, how will you hear or know the implanted Word is being spoken? You have all the equipment, the prayer formulae, etc., but check yourself, and monitor your formula to see if it is successful.
“But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.”–James 1:25. What is the perfect law of liberty? Only one law covers everything. You each have a crown of life. Look through it into the Light of God and you find that Light is your only law of liberty.
“If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.”–James 1:26-27. Omnipotence means all the Power. Omniscience is all knowledge. Omnipresence is God everywhere in a superfluity of substance. Let go of “all filthiness and overflow of wickedness.” That poor person who misuses God’s substance is to be pitied. Accept it as Light. The law of liberty is not to be enslaved by others’ words and deeds.
“Let it be Light, changed into Light.” Say, “Let there be Light,” which is the law of liberty overall. If you work for peace or serenity, endless phone calls will frustrate you more. Enfold yourself and others in Light, period. An angel with a flaming sword stands before you and says, “This door is closed.” You cannot go back. It can be great or small. Do not look back if you want success.
Live now, look into law of liberty and let the light absorb the darkness, criticism or negativity. Listen for the word. Your Father’s plan for you is perfect. So listen, be slow of speech, count to ten and look to the law of liberty, for there is your glory, your unconquerable faith working for you. Every miracle you have is a miracle of glory being fulfilled.
Be Strong to Endure
Edna Lister outline, December 18, 1966, Cleveland, OH, James 1:1-17
“James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting. My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted: But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away. For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways. Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Do not err, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”–James 1:1-17.
The Bible opens with a proclamation: “In the beginning, God created.” In the Old Testament, prophets announced, “Thus saith the Lord.” Jesus proclaimed, “Follow me. I am the way, the truth and the life. I come to fulfill the Law.” Old Testament prophets talked about the law, but in the New Testament, Jesus was the law. The prophets followed every proclamation with a warning of what not to do. Jesus followed every proclamation with beautiful parables and explanations that unfolded the meaning of law. He taught the beauty of the law, the need for it and how to obey it, saying, “Ye are gods.” Today, we say, “Ye are the sons of God.”
Down through the ages, each messiah taught endurance. To be able to stand and to endure is one of the greatest of all virtues. Endurance is a soul quality that Jesus exemplified during the Crucifixion. To endure means “to hold out, to last, to remain firm, to suffer patiently.” To endure, you ignore all pain, etc., without denying or accepting it, without admitting that you are experiencing it. What you ignore shrivels up and dies from lack of nourishment.
Faith is both a substance and a principle. Faith functions as endurance, enabling you to stand. The relative laws of nonresistance operate under faith as a principle. Nonresistance then becomes a virtue, enabling you to stand. Under nonresistance, you find the laws of endurance, whose virtue is to hold. The greatest virtues are to stand, to endure and to hold out long enough for God to work everything together for good. All these virtues point to one ability, to ignore the less good and to dwell on what you do desire.
James knew the secret: “Count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.”–James 1:2-3. Temptation is an opportunity to prove your faith. Your ability to endure is patience in action. If you do not know what to do or say, you may “ask in faith, nothing wavering.” A crown of life is your reward for enduring temptation without wavering. You waver when you stumble over emotional and mental blocks, opinions about, prejudices against and blame for. Transform these into faith and love. The instant the transformation from darkness to dark-less-ness happens, the old thought form-mold dissolves and your miracle is born.
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”–James 1:17. Tomorrow is yours. What you deposit in the Bank Universal today is yours to withdraw tomorrow. You cannot withdraw joy tomorrow unless you first eliminate today’s fears and doubts.
Think of all the unborn miracles waiting on your proclamation. God does not tempt you, but you tempt yourself. Today rapturous prayers transform the old into the new. Prayer actually recreates the whole body. No one is too old to recreate his body again. Prayer creates beauty all-encompassing.
Be Strong to Endure
Edna Lister transcript, Elizabeth Barnes, Ruth Johnson, Irene White, Virginia Whitehead, scribes, December 18, 1966, Cleveland, OH, James 1:1-17
“James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting. My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted: But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away. For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways. Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Do not err, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”–James 1:1-17.
The Bible opens with the proclamation “In the beginning, God created.” All the prophets of old made their proclamations, “thus saith the Lord” or “turn again to the Lord,” which they followed with warnings on how not to do it. Jonah said the whale had swallowed him. If he had said otherwise, they would not have listened. He had to tell a tale of wonder they would believe. People listened to Jonah, so he was a big man.
Jesus made many proclamations, but perhaps the most outstanding was, “I am the way, the truth and the life. Come, follow me.” The earlier prophets talked about the law. Jesus was the law. Jesus followed his proclamations with parables. He often taught in allegories. He impressed them with the need for law and why they should obey it. He also used warnings, but made law as attractive as possible. Every messiah has taught endurance, and that to stand is the greatest of virtues. The martyrs used endurance. Today the one who endures is the one who wins. “You can always count on him,” or, “You can depend on her,” is a great compliment.
The principle of faith operates under nonresistance, and its virtue is to stand immovable and untouchable. The law of endurance, the prime virtue of which is to hold, operates under nonresistance. To apply faith as nonresistance, you stand, hold and endure, which is the background, the foundation and the reason for miracles. Stand, hold and endure continuously until the miracle comes. Stand, even if you fall flat on your face. To endure means to hold out long enough. Stand and hold until the Father can work it together for good and untangle all the lines to manifest your heart’s desire, or you never do have the miracle.
Standing, holding and enduring implies another need: Ignore everything you do not want, everything that is unlike God. Do not deny it, just ignore it. If you deny it, it already possesses you. What you ignore withers and dies of lack of nourishment. “A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand, but it shall not come nigh thee.”–Psalm 91:7.
When you obey law, stand, and hold, you do not worry about next year — you just endure now. Hold, but do not look ahead. You know only what is happening now. Some say, “I’ll endure to the bitter end.” If you believe in a bitter end, you do not believe in God, but deny His ability to act. The greatest form of endurance is faith operating as nonresistance. Faith that agrees, adjusts and stands is the great virtue.
“It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come!”–Luke 17:1. The Light shines before you and shows up the darkness, if you surrender to the Light. People may act in an ugly way when you try to untangle their subconscious knots. They hand you what they are, not what you expected.
If the Light of God is using you, it will support you, despite name calling or what bothers you, so you will know joy. James caught the vision and put it all in this one chapter. He said, “Count it all joy when you fall into various temptations.” Light shows up darkness, but if you think you are the Light, you have no Light. The Light of God uses you as it goes before you, but only if you surrender. James did not say that you had to succumb to temptation. You can laugh at what irks you, if you have joy. Recognize this fact; it is a test. If you can recognize the temptation, you can laugh at it joyously.
“Count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.”–James 1:2-3. Sublime patience is not something you do, but stand, hold and endure to attain. Nonresistance is the only true patience. The principle of nonresistance agrees with its adversary, but letting someone know that you are being patient shows a contemptuous attitude, which will irritate them further. Patience is the expression of nonresistance in its three virtues, its three great laws, to stand, to endure and to hold. Stand on faith, being possessed by faith of God, without comparing yourself with the other fellow’s inadequacies.
“The trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.”–James 1:3-4. The need to be patient haunts everyone. You develop patience not by working for it, but by standing, enduring and holding. You may not waver. If you need to know more, ask. Do not ask for patience, or you will face all sorts of needs to be patient.
Use patience to invoke the outpouring of the principle of nonresistance. Plain patience is the composite of standing, holding and enduring. You may not waver. Unstable emotions and thoughts cause wavering. The three heaviest weights are opinions about, prejudice against and blame. Get rid of these and you go places. Opinions are just “I, I, I.”
Rumors cause prejudice; “You’ll never get me to do that!” When you get the truth, the truth sets you free. Do you blame the world or the other fellow for your trouble? Put your least favorites on separate clouds of Light. Do not give in to the self for excuses. Transform these old mental attitudes, opinions, prejudice and blame, to change from the old into the new. Call down fires from heaven to consume them.
You cannot resurrect yourself without transformation. The transforming Power of the Almighty, which operates under faith, endurance and holding, can transform an old or sick body into spiritual perfection. Faith never sees the decrepit in anyone. Do not listen to someone’s opinion about it. Under faith, ignore what you do not want, ignore it even when it shouts at you. Insist on “seeing Him who is invisible,” the invisible Power and glory. If you do not hear it, you cannot see it, but you can see the invisible perfection.
Give up ideas of darkness and transform your emotions, thinking, imagination into proclamations of steadfastness, “I stand, endure and hold in love and joy.” Transform darkness into Light. Miracles start when you do this. These three laws, to stand, to endure and to hold, are our whole religion. From the moment you grasp these principles, the Power inevitably uses you. You enter that timeless place where your miracle starts. You stand, comprehending what you are to do.
You tempt yourself. When something shocking happens, you just let go. Nothing matters when you stand, endure and hold, not curses, coarse actions or idle words. Give no thought to any adversary, but declare, “This is good. You are good. Let there be Light. I love you.” Your cheerful attitude may be an offense, because Light always offends darkness. They may even sock you for it, but what does it matter? If he pouts, it is his pout, not yours.
To stand, to endure, and to hold is the sum of religion. Agree with your adversary, even if he wants you to do something outrageous; your agreement may be as simple as saying, “I see that this means a great deal to you.” Are you the type who blames God? God does not let things happen. You create your own darkness, but as you clean it up, you can stand, endure and hold. This is how the Elect are lifting the influence of evil from the world. Look and see where you have tempted yourself, blamed or sat on both feet rather than stood.
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”–James 1:17. Let the glory of the Most High move over you. Ignore evil. Stand tall under God’s laws and you will look down on shrunken giants because you are ten feet tall.
Have great compassion and understanding for your adversaries. Keep them on clouds and say, “Stay there.” Lifting them is forgiving, giving love for, forgiving seventy times seven. This becomes automatic as you keep declaring the Light for them. This triumph of conquering is God acting as you.
Stand in joy while loving, for our God is a joyous God. The peace of God that passes all understanding is standing, enduring and holding in joy. You are immortal now!
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Edna Miriam Lister
1884–1971
The original Christian Pioneering Mystic,
Platonist philosopher, American Idealist, Founder, Society of the Universal Living Christ, minister, teacher, author, wife, and mother.
References
The Holy Bible. King James Version (KJV).
The Oxford English Dictionary. Compact Ed. 2 vols. Oxford University Press, 1971.